Paper Mario: The Legend of the Thousand Year Door
by PaperMario1018
Summary: This is a novelization of the game the way it was meant to be told. I have poured out my heart and soul into writing this, to make this story a truly moving tale of adventure, tragedy, and love. Please enjoy the novelization of the game that I love dearly
1. My personal introduction

******My Introduction: About a year ago, I bought a game called Paper Mario the Thousand Year Door. It changed my life. I had loved the first one for the Nintendo since I was five. Anyway, I saw this game come out and my first thoughts were, screw that, it will never beat the first one ever! I didn't buy it. It took me about 6 years to come to my senses and give this game a try. Now, I have very few regrets in my life but not playing this game when it came out was the biggest gaming mistake I ever made and one of my biggest regrets ever. This game was simply fantastic! I loved every minute of it! After I beat it, I looked at an in depth description of the story was simply speechless at how well written and deep this story was. I have played this game tons and this game and the First Paper Mario are my favorite games. I always wanted to write a story based on this game and then I heard of this website. That was all the motivation I needed. That's why I wrote this story. I have always wanted to give something back to the people who made this life changing game. **

******The next thing I noticed were that other people apparently had the same idea. There were probably about 5 or 6 other fan fictions that I read that were novelizations of the game. First, I appreciate those people writing about the game too but none of the stories quite did it for me. First things first, I am not talking about stories that involve the game but in a new way (such as the Paper Slash series which is great) I am talking about people who are telling the story of the game. These were all great writings but none of them captured the true power and emotions that I feel that this story has. **

******Here's is what I have done. I am doing a novelization of the story but I am telling it the way it needs to be told. I am looking at all of the characters from a much deeper and realistic point of view. I am telling the stories of the characters and putting in the emotions that they would have really been feeling. This story falls under the category of drama for a reason. It has all the adventure and action in the game but it also has tragedy and emotions in it that I believe the characters would have shown in their situations. Also, I rated this T but I feel I should warn you that this story takes the T rating to the limit and then some, containing some strong violence and brief strong language so please be advised. ********This story also contains strong angst on some occasions but it is brief. To sum it up, this is not a silly Mario fiction about the game, it is a realistic and deep story that is not always cheerful. **Even though there is violence and language, I believe it fits and enhances the story in a positive manor. I just wanted to warn any young readers. And by the way, even though this story contains angst and tragedy, it is also an adventure story with strong friendship and many happy and lighthearted parts. I don't want to scare you off by making you think you will be depressed reading this because you won't. Most of it is fun to read and action oriented. However, not all of it is happy and lighthearted so be warned.

**I have recently begun to receive more feedback on my story and I wanted to emphasise some things. I have had messages sent to me that stated that there is no god in the mushroom kingdom so why do I use phrases such as "Oh my god" and similar things. The reason is that this is written as if it were real life. There is religion in real life and while I will never go deeper into a religion other then a phrase such as "Oh my god," I don't see any harm with using a simple phrase like that. Also, due to popular request, from this point on I will be dividing my chapters into three or four sections to avoid confusion. **

******Some changes from the game to the story. Everything in the game is paper. I am telling the story in 3d, like everything is normal. As for the plot of the story, I always found novelizations that follow the thing that it is based on too closely to be boring. You know everything that is going to happen, who lives, who is victorious, everything. I have or course stuck with the basic plot of the game, otherwise, it wouldn't be a novelization. I have completely re imagined most of the situations to make this story exciting and unpredictable even for a person who has played the game 1000 times and can recite story backwards. I also made Mario be allowed to talk to make it more interesting. One of the things I can't stand is just reading the original dialogue from the game so I tried to avoid that wherever I can. **

******A last point I have to make is originality. The only thing in this story that isn't original is the base story, what you see in the game isn't original of course. That is why the story is based on the game. Every detail that was added that was not in the game is completely original. I stole nothing from the previous writers on this site. If something is similar, it is purely a coincidence. Everything from the side stories, to the added details, is completely from my imagination. THIS STORY IS NOT INSPIRED BY ANYONE ELSE AND NOTHING IS TAKEN FROM ANOTHER STORY. I cannot stress this point enough. However, I do not own the rights to any of the characters or the game. These belong to Intelligent Systems and Nintendo. Don't sue me please.**

******Also, if its not to much trouble, can you please leave a review? I like knowing what people think about my writing.**

******I would also like to thank all the people that have read my story and left encouraging reviews. It is really hard to keep writing if you are getting bad reviews so I thank everyone for not flaming my work and being nice from the bottom of my heart.**

******Well that just about all I have to say. Thank you for reading this. I am always working on it but due to the size of the chapters, I takes a while to write. I am forever in the debt of the creators of this game so I wrote this to do the game justice. So enjoy the story of Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door how it was meant to be told, with all the power and emotion that this incredible game deserves. **


	2. Intro:The tale of the Thousand Year Door

**Hello readers. I have decided to dedicate my story to Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan. He was an inspiration to me and I would not be the person I am today without him. I love you to death Jimmy. Rest in Peace. You will be will be in my heart foREVer.**

_Welcome travelers! I'm here to tell you the lore_

_that is the tale of the Thousand Year Door_

_An ancient legend, scattered by time_

_it lay untouched for generations to find_

_The first of the hero's came by the sea_

_and teamed up with others to find the keys_

_After many peril faced on their grueling task_

_the hero's had reached the end at last_

_But all of the challenges they had faced before_

_could never prepare them to enter that door_

_Could these mere people save this land_

_when the end of the world had already began_

_This is a tale of adventure, love, and one man's war_

_this is the tale of the Thousand Year Door_

* * *

Just another day in Paradise. The quiet and peaceful town of Rockshore Heights was home to about a thousand or so citizens. Harry and Fred were two goombas that were best friends. Everyday they would meet at the town square and talk for a while before heading off to work. Every day was a great day, they both enjoyed their jobs, had families, and were loving life. This certain day started off like any day. The sun was shining, the air was clear and fresh, and a cool breeze blew through the town.

"Good bye honey. I love you." said Harry to his wife.

"I love you too. Remember, were having dinner with the Masons tonight so don't eat a huge lunch." said Harry's wife, brushing her long black hair.

"Alright! Ill see you when I get back!" said Harry, turning to leave.

Harry walked out of the his home. The cool air blew through his hair. To his left, about ten children were playing in the town playground. Harry smiled at the parents who were watching their kids then began his walk to town the center of town. As he made his way through the town, he realized again how good he had things. He had a well paying job, a great wife, and the best son he could ask for. This was the life.

He reached the intersection of Broadmire road and Parkwood Avenue. A jazz band was tuning up, getting ready to play at "The Watering Hole," the town's local cafe. Harry stopped and grabbed a coffee before continuing his daily commute. He neared the center of the town. There were smiling people heading every way. Everyone was always in a good mood and friendly in this town. It was pure bliss. Harry moved through the crowd until he reached the fountain in the center of the town. As always, Fred was leaning against the fountain, eating a muffin and waiting for his friend. He looked up as Harry approached.

"Hello Harry, how are you on this fine morning?" asked Fred, setting down his muffin on the side of the fountain.

"Good, thank you. What about you?" asked Harry.

"Fine. Fine. My boss is really looking into my new ideas. I think we are close to a breakthrough!" said Fred.

"Really? Sounds like you are doing good then!" said Harry.

They both laughed. They had known each other since high school and been friends since.

"Well, I hope your idea works out. I gotta go!" said Harry as he threw his coffee away.

"Alright. Ill see you tomorrow. Have a great day!" said Fred, picking up his muffin again and taking a big bite.

The ground suddenly shook for a moment. It was over in seconds. A few passing people looked up but then it was back to normal quickly.

"What was that?" Asked Harry.

"Probably the construction." replied Fred, pointing to a construction site in the distance, near the middle school.

"Oh. That makes sense. Maybe they are drilling or something." said Harry, relieved. He had been worried for a second.

The ground shook again, much harder this time. Everyone froze. Something was very wrong. Suddenly, there was an enormous BANG and the ground cracked open and Fred, along with a few others tumbled in. He managed grab the side and stop his fall but then the ground shook again and he slipped and fell into darkness.

"FRED!" Yelled Harry, unable to grasp the concept that he had just seen his best friend, who he had known for years, for the last time.

The whole ground was shaking now and cracking apart. The sky had grown dark and lightning streaked across it in all directions. Lightning struck the ground right in front of Harry who was tossed back by the explosion. Burning derbies rained down on him. Harry stumbled up and started running back to his house to try to save his wife and son.

Harry reached the town square and stopped dead in his tracks. What he saw ahead could only be described as the end of the world. Bodies littered the once beautiful town square. The survivors were running around frantically, desperately trying to find somewhere to take shelter. There was an enormous wet sounding splat, right where Harry had just ran past. He looked up just in time to see a person jump from the roof of a burning office building. Harry felt his knees go weak as he realized what the splat sound he had just heard was. He looked up again to see a family with two kids getting ready to jump. Unable to take the gruesome sight anymore, Harry finally got his legs to cooperate with him and continued running towards his house.

Five agonizing minutes passed before Harry reached his house. He yanked open the door. His wife was pulling their son towards the front door where Harry was standing.

"Come on!" screamed Harry, reaching out to take his wife's hand.

"I coming! Oh my God!" shrieked Harry's wife.

She held out her hand and Harry felt his fingers close around hers. Just at that moment, there was a huge crack. Harry looked up to see a huge beam fall from the roof. The edge of the massive beam crashed into Harry's outstretched arm and leg. He staggered backwards and fell to the ground as water sprayed all over his face. Water? He pulled himself into a sitting position and saw that the beam had his his wife square on the head. The water that was running down his face was red.

"GO! Get out of here!" he yelled to his son, who he had lost track of in the confusion.

Outside, the storm grew more intense. Massive crashes of thunder shook the town to the core, destroying anything that wasn't made of concrete. Gigantic bolts of lightning slammed into the ground everywhere starting fires that roared across the town like hellfire. It was only a matter of seconds before Harry's house was completely engulfed in flames. He looked back to see where his son was and saw... nothing but a roaring fire. There was some sort of odd ball shaped object burning in the middle of it, but it was moving.

Seconds later, the house collapsed. One of the falling beams grazed Harry's head. Feeling his eyes closing and his life slipping away, Harry managed a last smile as he looked at the burning rubble of the house that he and his family had had so many good times in. He had loved ever moment.

All of the ground was cracking now. People were screaming as they fell into the bottomless pits. The ground seemed to be moving up, or maybe the town was sinking! Harry's vision was fading. It was almost completely dark and the screams were stopping as everyone met their fate.

As Harry's last bits of strength left him, he sunk back down to the floor. He looked up to the sky which was as dark as the night. Lightning flashed across the sky illuminating it for a split second. The last thing Harry saw was a Shadow looming overhead in the shape of a large person. The last light faded. Just another day in paradise.

* * *

Rogueport was a small city that was a sort of oasis for travelers. Every day, people arrived and left. The town was located right next to the ocean so it was easily accessible for ships. Even though Rogueport was the most visited city in the world, not one person came there to see the sights. Recently, rumors of a treasure below the city attracted hundreds of adventurers a year. No one had come close to finding the treasure. Most people left empty handed and with their dreams broken. That is... if they left at all. There was one person in a bright pink dress that looked especially out of place. A lost looking Princess Peach was wondering the area.

"With so many people visiting, you think they would at least sell maps!" muttered Peach to no one in particular.

She felt so alone in this town, even in the crowd of hundreds. No one cared about anything here except getting rich. Peach walked to the front of the town store and stopped to take a sip of water. Not two seconds later, she was pushed to the ground by two Koopas carrying armloads of mining gear. Her water bottle was knocked out of her hands and the side of her dress was ripped open. Peach sighed and pulled herself up for the fifth time that day.

Peach reminded herself for the thousandth time that day what they were doing in this dump. It was because she and Toadsworth were heading to the mystical Cherryshore Island for a week vacation. They were forced to stop here to refuel their ship. It should have been quick but Toadsworth was taking his sweet time looking around. In fact, Peach hadn't seen him for hours. She had decided to take a look at the town for herself while Toadsworth was busy wasting time.

Princess Peach gritted her teeth in anger. She sighed and looked around. In front of her was a old wooden gallows. It stood as a sinister warning to the criminals in the area. Peach walked past the gallows, towards the east side of town. She started to walk past a goomba but he stopped her.

"Hey buttercup, did you see the guy that just ran away?" asked the Goomba, pointing towards the west side of town.

"well...no..." said Peach, looking around warily.

"Damn! He completely screwed me over! I told him everything he wanted to know and what do I get? A knife pulled on me and my wallet stolen! I have to cancel my credit cards and call the bank to try to make sure he isn't trying to pull some sort of identity theft." muttered the goomba as he stormed off.

Peach shivered involuntarily. This town whispered danger. There were criminals everywhere. Peach looked at the newspaper in the window of the shop. It announced that the police had found four bodies in an alley on the east side of town, in the Robbo's territory. The Robbos had stuck again. In the center of the town square, a drunken fight had broken out over a girl. Soon, over thirty people were involved in the brawl which was quickly growing more violent. Peach gulped. Maybe... just maybe it was time to find Toadsworth. She began walking in the opposite direction of the fight.

"Hey Missy! Missy!" Called a voice. Princess Peach gasped and whirled around, almost tripping over her tattered dress.

"What? Me?" asked Peach, her heart racing.

Behind her was a little carpet with some souvenirs laid out on it. There were some pots, some fake looking gold, a few crystals, and a strange chest.

"Yes you my dearie."

Peach looked up to see a cloaked woman sitting behind the carpet. Her face and body was completely hidden from sight in the hood.

"Please help a kindly old woman and buy something. I have tons of treasures and relics from around the world!" Said the woman, adjusting her cloak to make sure she couldn't be seen.

Princess peach was uneasy by the scene. The woman's voice sounded very... strange and cold. What if this lady was some sort of nut just like most of the other people in this town. Peach decided that the best escape was to just give the woman what she wanted.

"Uhm.. Well lets see.."

The princess looked around at the junk. Suddenly the strange box caught her eye.

"That's a... a neat box. Whats in it?" asked the Princess.

The strange woman picked up the box.

"You have heard of the legendary treasure underneath this town Missy? It is said that this box holds the magical map to that legendary treasure... But, the box has a magic lock on it that will only open for a pure and noble heart. As you can see, it wont budge when someone despicable like me tries to open it." said the women.

She gave it a few tugs to prove her point. She then set the box down and fixed her cloak for the second time.

Princess Peach was unimpressed. It just wasn't worth it. She turned and was about to walk away but the woman called out to her.

"I know what Ill do. If the box will open for you Missy, you can have whatever is inside. I am sure whatever is in there would be no use to an outcast like me." said the woman, holding out the box.

"Uhmm. Alright." said the Princess.

She felt ridiculous but she took the box.

"Uh... Alright, here goes nothing," she said to humor the woman.

She was sure nothing would happen but as soon as she gave a little tug, the chest slowly opened and an old and beaten piece of parchment rolled out.

**Paper Mario and The Legend of the**

**Thousand Year Door**

* * *

In the forest, the weather was always good. It was an enchanted forest that covered miles and miles of land. A cool breeze blows through this forest even on the hottest of days. As we move through this forest, we come to an clearing. In this clearing lies a colorful house. There is a green pipe jutting up a little way down the footpath and a mailbox. A network of pipes are located next to the house. There is a sign that reads "Mario" over the door. Yes, this is the home of Mario and his brother Luigi.

Parakarry glanced down at the house he knew so well for the thousandth time. The flying postman happened to have a letter for Mario this morning. As he took out the letter, he was again reminded of the adventure he went on with Mario in the past. He relished the memories of it and always longed to go on another adventure with Mario. Maybe one day he would get his chance. If he wasn't such a good postman, maybe he would retire soon and see what was going on with Mario. Parakarry at that moment noticed the letter was from Princess Peach. His heart skipped a beat. He thought back to the last letter that he had delivered from the princess to Mario and the events that followed. Hopefully, there was nothing to worry about this time. He swooped down, placed the letter in the mailbox and shouted his signature line

"Mail Call!"

Closing the mailbox, Parakarry glanced at Mario's house. It seemed like only yesterday... Parakarry leaped back into the air and took off, heading for his next stop, unable to shake the feeling of dread from his gut.

Not five seconds later, the door opened and a tired looking Luigi trotted out.

"What a nice day!" thought Luigi as he walked over to the mailbox.

He caught a glimpse of Parakarry disappearing over the tree line. One of Mario's old friends. Mario and Parakarry had literally bumped into each other on Mt. Rugged. They had become friends almost immediately and then had gone on to save the Princess and the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Its so unfair!" Fumed Luigi.

He never got to go on any adventures. All he ever did was stay home and take care of the house while his big brother went on crazy adventures and saved the world. He wouldn't see his brother for months except for a few times when Mario would drop in to say hello.

"I want to go on an adventure too!" Luigi whined.

He snatched the letter and stopped in his tracks, seeing that it was from Peach. Maybe it would just be a normal letter. Letters from the princess usually meant trouble. But maybe this time... for once... it would just be a normal letter... he hoped.

Luigi opened the door and walked into the living area of the house. It was a comfy and colorful house with a wood stove, a bookshelf, a map, and a table still covered with Luigi's breakfast in the main living area of their house. In the back, there was a bunk bed for the brothers.

"Hey, Bro! Check it out! A letter from Princess Peach arrived for you!" called Luigi.

Mario walked out of their bedroom and Luigi went over to meet him.

"Good morning! What does it say?" asked Mario cheerfully, pouring himself a glass of orange juice.

"Dunno. Ill read it to you." said Luigi, settling down into his chair. He opened the letter.

"Ahem! Now let's see here..." Luigi began to read the letter.

_"Hello there, Mario! I am now on holiday, traveling in the Mushroom Kingdom. In my travels, I came into possession of a mystical map...a treasure map, actually. It was inside a box I got from an old merchant in a town called Rogueport. But since it would be too difficult for me to try to go find the treasure all by myself...I thought you could help me hunt for it! You will, of course, won't you? I've included the map with this letter, so please bring it with you when you come. I'll meet you at Rogueport. (That means you MUST come!)_

_Peach_

Luigi finished reading the letter and set it down. A treasure? A mystical map? Where was Rogueport? Questions flooded Luigi's mind. He glanced down at the letter and saw a beaten up sheet of parchment tucked inside. He pulled it out and realized he was holding a map.

"Wow! It's true! There's really a map in here with the letter. Check it out!" stammered Luigi.

"Really? Whats the map look like?" asked Mario, trotting over to his brother's side.

Mario took the map from Luigi and took a look. What a fantastic sight the map was. There was Rogueport in the center surrounded on all sides by fantastic looking places and sights. Mario hesitated briefly. He would rather start his morning sitting on his porch with a glass of orange juice then traveling across the ocean. He soon dismissed the thought after realizing that he was just being lazy. Mario decided to help Peach. He had actually been longing to get out of the house for a while. He left Luigi to his normal duties and then packed his bags. He then said his final goodbyes and left. Fifteen minutes later, he was walking through Toad Town.

He passed the entrance to Forever Forest, and Shy Guy's Toybox. Memories... He then headed to Toad Town docks to catch the boat to Rogueport... or see if they even had a boat to Rogueport.

"Good morning sir." said the toad who was the manager of the port.

"Morning. I need a boat to Rogueport." said Mario, setting down his suitcase.

The dock manager froze.

"Rogueport...uh.. yeah we go there. Take the boat on the far end of the dock." said the manager, his mouth hanging open.

"Uh... thank you." said Mario, slightly confused at the reaction from the toad.

He walked to the end of the dock and climbed onto a colorful boat.

"Welcome aboard sir! The trip will take a day or two so settle in." said the captain of the boat.

Mario nodded and set his suitcase on the floor. A small bed was located in the back of the boat. Mario sat on the edge. The dock manager came over and spoke to the captain for a minute. Mario took a last look at Toad Town. He wouldn't be seeing it again for a while.

The captain and manager ended their conversation. The captain closed the boat's door and turned on the engines. Five minutes later, they pulled out of the port. Mario opened the back window of the boat to let some fresh air into the cramped cabin. The dock manager caught his eye. Instead of returning to his post, he was standing at the end of the dock waving. He yelled something after them and even though he was fading into the morning mist, Mario heard his words crystal clear.

"Good luck mister. I guess everyone has to die sometime, right?"

**Dear Readers, our journey has begun. Thank you for choosing to read this story and if you like it, please leave a review. The feedback really helps.**


	3. Prologue: A Rogue's Welcome

**Prologue: A Rogue's Welcome**

Sleep was impossible. Mario had left port about a day ago and was due to reach Rogueport in another day. There was nothing to do on the boat except sleep but sleep simply didn't come.

Mario was worried. Peach had sent a map to some legendary treasure. She wanted to look for it which could be dangerous. Also, how did she find out about this treasure and where did she get the map? All of these questions disturbed Mario. He eventually reached the point where he could no longer stay awake. Mario felt sleep creeping over him and allowed it to carry him away.

The next thing he knew someone was shaking him and the boat felt like it was slowing down. The roar of the engines had dropped to a low growl.

"Hey Buddy. You awake?" said a voice.

Mario rubbed his eyes. He assumed it was the captain speaking.

"Rise and shine! We are almost there. If you look hard, you can even see the town in the distance." said the captain, pointing through the open window.

Mario slowly opened his eyes and pulled himself up to the window. At first all he saw was what looked like a blurry brown colored blob on the horizon but as his eyes focused, he could make out buildings. So this was Rogueport, the town of thieves, gangs, and a legendary treasure. Mario's first impression of Rogueport was exactly as he would expected it would be. From this distance, it looked like a beat up broken down town.

"Were almost there. Just a few more minutes." said the captain.

About fifteen minutes later, the boat pulled into the Rogueport harbor and came to a stop. Mario could see the first citizens of Rogueport. There were a few toads dressed in tattered clothes and some bob-bomb sailors, all busy running the port.

"Alright we are here. Just a few minutes behind our estimated time." stated the captain but it was clear that something else was eating away at the captain. There was a long pause then:

"Are you sure you want to get of here? If you leave this boat, I can't guarantee your safety and by the looks of things, I would say that Rogueport just isn't safe anymore." gushed the captain.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me. Ill be fine" said Mario.

The captain had seemed very concerned about his safety having warned Mario many times about the awful things that could happen to him, describing in detail all the recent murders, rapes, and assults. With Mario's words, the Captain seemed to loose hope.

"Uh. Well alright sir. This is a dangerous place so be very careful." sighed the Captain as he began to unload Mario's luggage.

"Go ahead. Ill unload the boat and have your luggage checked in at the inn." said the captain.

Mario nodded as he left the safety of the boat behind and stepped into the town called Rogueport. Mario shivered involuntarily. Maybe it was the salty breeze rolling off the ocean, or maybe it was the huge red stain on the staircase that led from the port into the town. Mario couldn't shake the feeling of dread, knowing that the Princess was here. There was no turning back now. Mario walked towards the crumbling stone staircase that had boards holding it up. The bricks around it were crumbling also. The whole port was crumbling in fact. To his right, several badly beaten toads were boarding a ship that was leaving port. Mario shivered again. He was so busy looking at the bruised and battered toads that he bumped into one of the gritty toads that was hauling a pile of chains.

"Watch it dipshit!" barked the toad, pushing Mario out of the way.

"Sorry." muttered Mario, pulling his cap down lower so that people wouldn't get a good look at him.

He continued walking...right into trouble.

"Help! What do you want? Get away from me you crazy bastards!" cried a female voice.

Mario looked up and saw a young goomba girl with a archeologist's helmet and long blond hair running away from three creatures. Mario saw that one of them was huge and seemed to be leading the other smaller creatures. The goomba ran down the steps, jumping off the side halfway down. She recovered quickly and turned to run again, but she had run out of land. The creatures caught up and stopped in front of her, giving Mario a better look at the attackers.

The leader had a purple and black suit on with a purple helmet, red collar, and a huge white X across his chest. The smaller attackers were red and white, also with X's stitched across their chests. Their faces were hidden by their collars and also by a huge pair of glasses that they were all wearing. They had nearly cornered the goomba.

"For the last time. I've seen you... I mean I've heard you asking around about the crystal stars. Playtimes over little girl so you better tell me what you know right NOW!" Yelled the leader of the group.

"Uh... No! I'm not telling you anything!" cried the young goomba in response.

"Ugh... Why do you have to be difficult? You have nothing to gain and everything to loose. Unfortunantly for you, there's no leaving now." growled the leader.

He paused for a moment to enjoy a hearty laugh with his two assistants.

"Boys, shes coming with us to our fortress!"

"As you command, Lord Crump! We're on it!" replied one of the smaller creatures.

So, the leaders name was Lord Crump realized Mario. He looked up again to see Crump and his followers advance on the goomba again.

"Stop right now! These people won't let this happen!" she shrieked.

The goomba girl turned to face the twenty or so toads working the dock.

"Help me!" she screamed.

"Look around! No one cares about your problems." said Crump, pointing towards the toads.

Mario followed his finger and saw that the toads didn't even glance up. Mario guessed this kind of stuff was routine here.

The goomba girl spun around, looking for a way out and saw Mario, the only person in the whole town so far who even had glanced up at her. She ran and took cover behind him.

"Like I'd go anywhere with lunatics like you! Hmph! Not on my watch pal!" Lord Crump stopped in his tracks and looked at Mario.

"Whuh? And who are you my friend? Do you know this little girl?" spat Lord Crump.

"We got ourselves a hero here." snickered one of Crump's follwers.

Mario turned around and saw the goomba girl hiding behind him and knew that he was suddenly in the middle of their fight.

"Uh... wait! I think we have a bit of a mis..."

"Gah! Why do people always have to ruin everything... Looks like another tourist is going to die in Rogueport today!" yelled Lord Crump, advancing on Mario.

"Wait... But I... Look..."

There was no way out. If this punk wanted to fight, he sure as hell would get one.

Mario ran forward and slammed his fists into Crump's stomach. Crump took the pain in stride and then took a flying leap at Mario. Mario dived onto the ground as Crump flew over him and crashed to the ground. Mario recovered quickly and spun around just in time to see one of Crump's minions rush forward to join the fight. Mario grabbed a rusty chain from a pile of equipment that was about to be loaded onto a departing ship. As if sensing what was about to happen, Crump's follower stopped dead in his tracks and tried to run the other way. Too late. There was a CRACK like a whip as the heavy chain caught him brutally on the side of his face. His glasses shattered and he was crashed to the ground and didn't move. Mario dropped the chain just as Crump reached him again. Mario was caught off guard and Crump hit him in the side with a flying tackle. Both Mario and Crump went flying and crashed into the crumbing staircase, breaking the boards that were holding it up and sending pieces of stone and wood flying everywhere.

"Beat the shit out of him! You got him!" the goomba girl was screaming from somewhere in the distance.

Mario staggered up as fast as he could as did Crump who was winded but still going strong. He threw a right hook which knocked Mario off his feet again. He felt like someone had hit him with a baseball bat. Mario looked up to see Crump close in to finish the fight. Mario quickly grabbed one of the broken wooden boards from the staircase. He brought it around, whacking Crump in the face and sending him staggering backwards onto the ground. Mario then remembered that he still was carrying his old hammer from ages ago. Mario pulled the hammer out of his back pocket and hurled it at Crump who was still hurt from the last blow. It connected solidly with Lord Crump's chin dropping him like a bag of leaves.

"Yes! Serves you right you lunatics!" cried the goomba, relieved that this stranger had just saved her from being taken away with those loons.

Mario let his breath out slowley and sunk into a sitting position against the partially ruined staircase. He wiped the blood off of his face and checked himself to make sure he was still in one piece. The goomba girl ran over.

"Are you okay mister?" she asked, concerned.

Mario was about to answer when he noticed that Crump had managed to get to his feet with the help of his remaining minion. Blood was dripping from his mouth.

"Ugh... all right. Your not THAT weak. I would have won but Johnson over here distracted me!" said Crump, pointing to the creature that had just helped him up.

"Wait! I didn't do any..."

"Silence! Fetch me a hankerchief" screamed Crump, blood and spit flying out of his mouth.

"Yes sir!" cried Johnson as he ran off.

Johnson had only ran a few feet when he tripped over the body of the creature that Mario had hit with the chain and performed a spectacular combination of a dive and a flip as he crashed to the ground. Crump shook his head in exasperation before turning back to Mario.

"This is so not over. Ill see you...(ouch, my stomach...) well... Ill see you again." muttered Crump, no longer caring to act dignified.

With that, Crump fell over onto his back. He was unconscious. Johnson climbed to his feet and ran back to Crump's side, splashing water on his face. Crump didn't move.

"Phew! What a bunch of idiots! Lets get out of here, okay?" said the goomba girl that Mario had just saved.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." replied Mario.

And with that Mario and the goomba headed up the stairs, or what was left of the stairs, end entered the town square of Rogueport.

Mario and the goomba trotted towards a wooden platform and sat down on it to catch their breath. Mario looked around. As he did this, his concern for the safety of Peach grew even more. The town had many building that were made out of grimy and crumbling bricks. In fact, it seemed like the whole town was rotting. Mario stood up and took a quick walk around the wooden platform that he and the goomba had been sitting on. Mario looked down and noticed a faded white chalk outline drawn on the ground... He looked toward the west side of town. He saw some older goombas run out of a shop. There was a glint from one of their pockets. Mario didn't need to look closer to know that it was a knife. Mario decided to go back to the goomba that he had just saved. As he started the walk back, he noticed the platform he was sitting on earlier was a old wooden gallows.

Mario reached the goomba who had gotten to her feet.

"Wow, You saved my life! Thanks!" she said and gave Mario a kiss.

Mario felt his knees go weak but he managed to keep his composure.

"Don't worry about it." said Mario, a bit winded himself, more from the sights he had just seen then the fight.

"I'm Goombella. I'm a student from the University of Goom. Nice to meet ya!" said the goomba whose name was Goombella.

"So uh... who are you?" asked Goombella, studying Mario's face.

"I'm Mario." said Mario.

"Mario? You mean the totally super famous guy! Wow! I can't believe I am meeting you in this dump!" stammered Goombella, looking him over.

"Uh... so... I see you just rolled into town by yourself, right?. Anyone with you?" asked Goombella.

"Yeah... Kinda. Well, I'm supposed to meet someone here but I don't see them at the moment. Whats your story? Why are you here?" asked Mario.

"I actually haven't been here that long. I hate it already though. There are criminals, thieves, murderers, you name it! I know the place is called Rogueport, so I should have expected it, but I mean come on, I mean, your standing where someone was murdered as we speak!" cried Goombella, glancing down.

Mario looked down and noticed that he was standing in the chalk outline.

I'd never come to a place like this if there weren't a legendary treasure to look for. In fact, I don't think any treasure is worth this!" said Goombella.

Legendary treasure? Mario immediately made the connection between Goombella's gossip and Peach's letter. It seemed that Peach wasn't the only one looking for the treasure. And Mario had the treasure map. Mario looked around at all of the people wondering the town. He realized that there were many different kinds of people from lands far away. There was no reason to come here except to find the treasure. This worried Mario. If there was strong competition to get the treasure, who knows what people might do to find it. Mario glanced at the gallows. He couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen to the princess.

"So your looking for the treasure too? That's why I came here... or why I was asked to come here." stated Mario.

"What? You came here to look for the treasure too! How did you even find out, I mean your from the Mushroom Kingdom?" asked Goombella.

Mario nodded and pulled the map out of his pocket. Before he could show it to Goombella though, he was interrupted.

"Well... if it ain't da stooges from da Robbos on our land again!" yelled a booming voice.

Mario whirled around and saw two Piantas, natives from Isle Delfino. They were well dressed, wearing suits, and facing two gnarly looking Craws with helmets and long daggers. Mario suddenly noticed that the streets had become deserted. Goombella gasped.

"Down now!" she cried, diving behind the gallows. Mario quickly followed.

"Tell your boss Don... that he better watch his back! The Robbos are stronger than ever before!" spat one of the Craws, holding his dagger so that the sunlight caught it and made it shine.

"Don got nothin to worry bout! We protect him with our lives!" yelled one of the Piantas.

"Is that so? Well I guess well have to do something about your lives then!" hissed the other Robbo member."

With that, he raised his hand and flicked his wrist. Mario watched the dagger cut through the air. It hit the Pianta on the left square in the forehead, splattering his partner with blood. He cried out then slumped over backwards.

"ROCKO!" yelled the other Pianta.

He wiped the blood off his face then pulled a baseball bat out of his suit. The towering Pianta then advanced on the two Robbos members who suddenly were less confident. They tried to back away but soon found themselves trapped between the Pianta and the front of the town general store. The Craw that still had his knife tried to stab him but the Pianta deflected the blade while bringing the bat around. It smashed into the Craw's head with a sickening crack, smearing blood all over the wall that he had backed up against. The second Robbo member picked up the knife.

"I'll see you in hell! You and all the rest of the fucking Piantas!" screamed the Robbo member.

He ran forward and smashed the Pianta into the storefront where they both crashed through the glass breaking the newspaper display and sending newspapers and glass flying all over the street. The Robbos member brought up his knife and stabbed the Pianta in the gut. With a weak cry, the Pianta ripped the knife out of his stomach and shoved it into the Craw's neck who let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"The Robbos... will never win." whispered the Pianta, his face pale as a ghost.

With that, they both collapsed, a pool of blood spreading around the two. One of the newspapers fell to the ground in front of the bodies.

"Turf war between the Robbos and the Pianta Syndicate heating up!" read the headline.

"Huh... holy shit." stammered Goombella, pulling her helmet back up.

She and Mario stood back up and walked back onto the street. Already people were returning. The bodies were gone in two minutes and the blood was washed away in three. It seemed like a routine. They didn't even bother to draw the outlines and investigate anymore.

"What did we just see?" stammered Mario, shaking.

"We just saw a confrontation between the Robbos and the Pianta Syndicate. They are two rival gangs, locked in a turf war over the east and west side of Rogueport. The Robbos are a poor gang and the Pianta Syndicate is really rich. They have been fighting each other for control of Rogueport for years but it has gotten really bad in the past few months." whispered Goombella.

"I can see that." said Mario, wiping the sweat from his brow.

He and Goombella took a few minutes to catch their breath. Mario realized that he was in way over his head. He shouldn't be here. As soon as he found the Princess, they were leaving. She was nowhere to be found at the moment though, another troubling thought. Mario realized he was still holding the map.

"Hey Goombella, take a look at this. This is how I found out about the treasure." said Mario, holding up the map.

"Wait... Whats that?" asked Goombella, tensing up.

Mario unfolded the map and showed it to her. She looked at for a full two seconds before she lost it.

"HOLD ON! This is the actual really real treasure map? WHERE did you get that!" Goombella practically screamed.

Mario decided to tell her everything. After all, she seemed loyal enough. He started with the letter from the princess.

"...Princess Peach? What?" stammered Goombella. Before Mario could respond, he heard a familiar voice.

"Great hoogly-boogly! If it isn't Master Mario!"

Mario turned around to see Toadsworth walking towards them, leaning heavily on his cane.

"Uh... Yeah... Its me!" said Mario, surprised.

"Bit of a coincidence, you know, meeting up like this here? Ho ho! So tell me, Master Mario, what in the world brings you to this bloody deathtrap?" barked Toadsworth in his thick English accent.

Mario told him the story about the Peach's letter and the treasure map.

"...Hmm? Ah! Indeed? Princess Peach sent you a letter and a treasure map? And she told you she'd meet you here in Rogueport? Intriguing..." said Toadsworth, plucking at his monocle.

Toadsworth seemed to be deep in thought, pondering Mario's words. Toadsworth had seemed very surprised about Peach and the letter.

"Yeah... well now that's all cleared up. While were on the topic of Peach... well... where is she?" asked Mario.

"Erm... I was about to ask you that. We stopped in this town to acquire a spot of fuel for our ship, don't you know... I turned my back to buy a newspaper from the shop and she was gone when I looked back up." said Toadsworth in a shaky voice.

Mario felt his knees go weak and he fought the urge to collapse. His fears were spot on this entire time.

"Wait...she just disappeared?" asked Mario, weakly.

"You know how stubborn she is, Mario... I just assumed she'd be back momentarily... But at this point, I don't think that she will be coming back. I... I just don't know what to do. I have been worried sick!" stammered Toadsworth.

Mario couldn't believe it. Toadsworth had let her out of his sight, and now she was missing. What else could possibly go wrong!

"But with you here, surely we'll find her! Surely! Hopefully... Do you think you can handle it again?" asked Toadsworth quickly.

Mario looked at the feeble man in front of him and realized that he would have to do it. This wasn't Toadsworth's world.

"Alright...alright. I'll look for her. What are you going to do?" asked Mario.

"I am going to go to the inn and have a few shots of whiskey. I have been worried sick and I need to get away from it for a while. I do wish you luck Mario. Just... be careful." and with that, Toadsworth turned and walked back to the inn, mumbling to himself.

Mario felt a sinking feeling in his gut. He wouldn't be leaving this god forsaken town anytime soon. Mario could see that Goombella had been holding her tongue.

"Um... Princess Peach? Did he mean, like, uh... you know... PEACH? The damsel who always gets nabbed by Bowser? The one you rescue? Wait a sec! This is crazy! Princess... PEACH mailed you that treasure map?" Goombella stammered.

"Yeah." said Mario, though he barley understood anything Goombella had said due to the speed at which she talked.

"Whoa. This is CRAZY. Well, where could she have gone, then, do you think? You think maybe she got sick of waiting and went to find the treasure on her own?"

Mario took a second to think about this possibility. The thought of the Princess going off on her own in a town like this curdled his blood.

"Oooh! Oooh! I know, Mario! Come along with me! One of my professors... you know... from my university... is here researching that treasure. We'll show him your map! If we start looking for the treasure, then maybe we'll catch up to Princess Peach!"

Mario assumed she have been talking about one of the professors from the University of Goom that she had mentioned earlier. He decided that if Peach had started looking for the treasure, maybe they could catch up to her before anything bad happened! It was a long shot but it could work. Mario knew in his heart that it would never be that easy. He turned to Goombella and nodded.

"Great! Its all good, then! Let's go, Mario! And also, consider us partners. Lets find this treasure together Mario!" said Goombella and with that, she began walking east.

Mario followed her, feeling grateful to have a friend and a partner in this town. He watched her trot ahead all happy and enthusiastic. She seemed to be a fan of his. She turned around to make sure Mario was still following. Satisfied, she turned around and continued to lead the way.

"Well it looks like your off on another adventure. Just like ours back in the days. Take good care of Goombella Mario, she seems like a good person to know here!" said Goombario who was leaning against the gallows.

"Goombario?" Mario stuttered weakly. He shook his head and felt faint.

"Mario! Mario! Are you okay?" asked Goombella, running back to Mario who had fallen to his knees.

Mario nodded. He felt sick though. He had just seen Goombario, his first partner and friend from ages ago! But that was impossible! Mario thought back to 7 months ago. He had gotten a letter from Goombario's family, inviting Mario to a picnic in Goomba Village. Mario had enthusiastically accepted, eager to see his great friend Goombario again. The picnic would be in a week. Goombario died three days later from a unexpected heart attack.

Mario had gotten the letter and it had torn a hole in his heart. Goombario had always been so cheerful, so enthusiastic, so helpful, and such a good friend and now, Mario would never get to see Goombario's smiling face again. Goombario had left Mario with nothing but memories of their time together and a blurry black and white picture of Mario and Goombario that was taken right before they left to save Peach. Goombario's sister, Goombaria, had sent it along with the letter. The picture had been smudged by her tears as she had placed it in the letter. He had attended the funeral and it was one of the saddest days of his life.

Mario looked up into Goombella's concerned face. She reminded him so much of Goombario, his enthusiasm, his eagerness, and his passion. He must have hit his head and imagined seeing Goombario or something.

"Yeah I'm fine." said Mario.

"Are you sure? You look like you saw a ghost!" said Goombella, concerned.

Mario nodded. He turned around just in time to see Goombario smile encouragingly towards him before he disappeared around the corner. Mario hadn't imagined it. He ran over and looked around the corner but there was no one there. Mario thought he had lost his dear friend Goombario 7 months ago but no, it appeared that Goombario was still with him in his heart. Their friendship was so strong that nothing...nothing in this world or the next could ever truly break it.

"Mario! Mario! Whats wrong!" yelled Goombella.

"Nothing, I just though I saw an old friend. But I was wrong." said Mario, his heart warming up.

He was wrong. Goombario wasn't an old friend, he was still Mario's good friend and was always ready to help, always there for him, death hadn't changed that. Mario wiped a tear from his eye.

"Oh... Well, are ya ready to go on?" asked Goombella.

"Sure lets go." replied Mario.

They walked a few feet. Suddenly, a bandit crashed into Mario, knocking him onto his back.

"Hehe! Have a nice day sucka!" yelled the bandit as he continued running. Mario pulled himself up for what must have been the tenth time in the last hour.

"Hey! Fuck you! Get back here you piece of shit!" Goombella was yelling at the bandit.

Mario checked his pockets and realized that the bandit had stolen most of his money.

"That SUCKS! Ugh! I really really HATE this town!" moaned Goombella.

"You can say that again."

They continued walking till they reached the professors house. Goombella opened the door and walked in.

"Professor Frankly! Can you lend us a few minutes?" asked Goombella.

Professor Frankly jumped at the sound of Goombella's loud voice. Mario walked in and got a look at Goombella's professor. He was an older looking goomba with white hair and big glasses. He was wearing a white lab coat. His house was full of all sorts of books and there was a lone desk in the corner.

"Ahhh! Who's there? Who called for me?" barked Frankly.

Goombella and Mario walked over to where he was. Mario guessed that Frankly's eyesight wasn't the best.

"Ah. I remember you! WAIT! Don't tell me your name! Ill get it right. Its on the tip of my tongue. Here is comes... No.. yes... SILENCE... Don't tell... Wait... DON'T TELL ME!" screamed Frankly.

Frankly thought for a minute. Then he remembered her from his class.

"You're Goombella! You were in my archeology class last year right?" asked Frankly.

"Oh yeah! Wow! You remembered, that's impressive. I'm still taking classes you know, now I'm a junior at U Goom! Gooo GOOMBAS!" yelled Goombella.

"Of course I remember you. My memory isn't the best but you... You I remember. Never had a better student than you, and so enthusiastic. And that guy behind you is.."

Mario decided to save Frankly the trouble.

"I'm Mario...You know... From the Mushroom Kingdom?" said Mario.

"WHO?" barked Frankly?"

"Mario! Professor, he's Mario! You know...the super famous one!" answered Goombella.

Frankly thought for a moment. He had never head of Mario before but why would he be here if he was so well known?

"Oh! I never heard of him, I don't really know what celebrities are popular right now. Anyway, what brings you to a place like this? asked Frankly.

"We came for the same reason everyone comes here... the only reason anyone comes here. We wanted to know about the treasure below Rogueport and I thought you would be a good person to ask about it."

Below Rogueport? Mario wasn't sure he had heard that part correctly. How was this legendary treasure under this town? Mario's head was once again spinning with questions.

"Of course I know about it. The reason I came here was to study it. But why do you little dumplings want to learn about the legendary treasure? You know that most say it's a little more than a fairy tale, don't you?" responded Frankly.

"Archaeologists and historians have to search for truth in those fairy tales, though! That's their job! That's how discoveries are made! Me, I believe the legendary treasure truly does exist! And I REALLY want to find it!" said Goombella.

Mario couldn't help but admire Goombella's determination. She could turn out to be a useful partner on his quest.

"Good point! And well made with such passion and zest! You should take a drama class when you get back to school. Well, Ill help you out any way I can. First of all, about the treasure... There are many many many mysteries and uncertainties surrounding it." stated Frankly.

"Some say that it is treasure beyond anyone's wildest imagination. Others say that is contains magic. Some books say it's a ancient monster, while some think its just an empty chest... With so many theories... the truth has simply been lost. ... in fact there is only one fact that people can agree on: to find the treasure, one must have the Crystal Stars!" said Frankly.

Mario remembered that Lord Crump had been after Goombella because of these Crystal Stars. What were they and what did they have to do with the treasure?

"To find the treasure of yore, take the seven Crystal Stars to the Thousand-Year Door!" ...You mean the Crystal Stars thingies in that really old saying that old super-elderly people pass down?" asked Goombella.

The Thousand Year Door? What the heck was that ? To Mario, their conversation might as well have been in Latin. None of it made any sense.

"Indeed, the same. Now lets look into the second part of the saying... You must first collect the seven Crystal Stars." said Frankly, sipping from a mug of coffee.

"Hold the Magical Map aloft before the entrance to the Thousand-Year Door. Then the stars will light the way that leads to the stones of yesterday." Yeah... A lot of the tales I've read says that if this Magical Map is taken to the doorway...then it'll show you where to find the Crystal Stars!" said Goombella.

"So people say. I don't really know how a holding a map in front of a door will show us anything but we can't eliminate any possibilities yet." muttered Frankly.

Mario hadn't gotten much out of this. Apparently there was some kind of door that there was treasure behind, but you needed the seven crystal stars to open it. They didn't know where the crystal stars were but if you held the magical map in front of the door, it would, or at least the legends said it reveal where they were hidden. It was simple really. Kind of. Meanwhile, Goombella and Frankly went on.

"And the Thousand-Year Door is supposedly right here in Rogueport, deep underground. Yet the critical piece of the puzzle-the Map-is lost. Without the map, I really don't see anyway we could uncover anything. I would give ANYTHING to have that map!" said Frankly.

"But we DO have it, Professor! Or... Well, not "we", exactly... MARIO has the Magical Map!"

Professor Frankly froze with his mouth hanging open. Mario hoped he wouldn't have a stroke or something. He tried to control himself but Mario could tell he was excited.

"REALLY? You... You actually have it? Could I...just take a quick look at it, if you don't mind?" stuttered Frankly.

"Sure thing!" said Mario, speaking for the first time in over a half hour. He was almost startled to hear the sound of his own voice again.

Mario handed the map to Frankly. He took it and looked at it for a good five minutes, unblinking.

"Holy pigeons of fire! This is the real deal!" he stammered, eventually.

Frankly handed it back to Mario who but it back in his pocket.

"You, son, are my HERO! I mean... Really! Your just incredible! Just... wow! Why I think that you and I should have met much earlier! yelled Frankly

"Thanks?" replied Mario.

"With this... we might actually have a chance to uncover something!" yelled Frankly.

"Right on, Professor!" replied Goombella.

"Well, what are we doing just sitting here, then? Goombella! Mario! Come on! NOW! Let's take the Magical Map to the legendary door!" Frankly practically screamed.

He leaped off his chair which went flying backwards where it shattered a model ship in a bottle, and ran out the door. Mario and Goombella followed. They exited out of Frankly's house back into the streets of Rogueport. Frankly unlocked a gate that had a pipe behind it.

"We can use my private pipe to get under the city! Come on! Both of you! Let's get moving!" cried Frankly who seemed bursting with enthusiasm. Just then, another thought occurred to him.

"Oh, wait, hang on a second... Mario! I just thought of something. There are some... well... lets just say you won't find the nicest people down here so be careful" said the professor before he disappeared down the pipe. Mario and Goombella followed.

They arrived in the Rogueport sewers. Everything was rock and the place was musty. Mario couldn't believe that people would hang out down here but soon enough he was proven wrong. The trio came across three goombas hanging out. One was flying, a paragoomba, and one had a spike strapped to his head.

"Hey! Get a load of this! Duude! Check that girl out! Daaaamn!" stammered the normal goomba.

"Hey baby. Come with us for a while! Oh yeah, well take real good care of you! Why don't you take off all that stuff and well show you a GOOOD time!" said the goomba with the spike on his head.

Goombella was disgusted by this.

"Wait, what's such a smokin Goomba doin with such an ugly old man?" asked the paragoomba.

"Goombella... forget about these guys...just think calm thoughts." said Mario hopping Goombella wouldn't get them into trouble but she couldn't hold her tongue.

"Awww. You think I'm cute huh? Well get out of the GOD DAMNED WAY before I kick your ass!" yelled Goombella.

"Goombella! Take it easy!" said Mario, trying to avoid problems but the damage was done.

"Quite a mouth on you there!" said the normal goomba.

"Someone should teach her how to use it!" mumbled the paragoomba.

"I believe a lesson in manners is in order!" snickered the spiked goomba.

They all charged forward. Mario punched the paragoomba out of the air then brought his hammer around, whacking the spiked goomba all in one motion. Goombella, still screaming profanities knocked the last goomba sensless with her headbonk. Within a minute, the three goombas were crawling away in complete agony.

"Goodbye! Better luck next time boys!" taunted Goombella, blowing a kiss at the fleeing goombas.

"Wow... If you were still in my class, I might have been forced to give you a detention for that." muttered Frankly, shaking his head.

There was nothing left to say so the three continued through the sewers. There were alot of rooms that didn't seem to hold anything of interest. The group came to a big open room next. It had a staircase in the far corner.

"It looks like were making progress!" said Goombella.

They ascended the flight of stairs. The air in the tunnel grew colder. They must have been getting deeper in the tunnels. They continued on through the next door.

Mario was starting to wonder if there really was a Thousand Year Door. They had been going for a long time and still hadn't found any door. Goombella and Frankly were still going strong so he decided to continue. The next room was a huge open area. There were huge pillars that must have been at least 70 feet tall. One was lying on the ground in at least 3 pieces. There was a raised platform in the center of the room. On this platform was a pedestal was a sketch of a star. And in between the two pillars, against the wall was the Thousand Year Door.

Mario was shocked. The legends were true. It existed! The door was huge. It was probably 50 feet tall and bright red with elaborate golden patterns carved into it. The pattern showed swirling golden lines around 7 stars carved into the door. The door's edges were golden and the entire door was set into a stone arch that also had stars sculpted into it. Mario looked at Goombella and Frankly's wide eyes and realized that they must have been in disbelief also. Frankly finally spoke.

"Oh! Mario! Goombella! Look...at...THAT!" cried Frankly, unaware that he, Mario, and Goombella had already been staring at the door for a good minute.

"Its... Its real." stammered Mario.

"It's the Thousand-Year Door spoken of in the legends! I can't believe it's real! So the legends are all true! There it is, big as life!" said Goombella, shaking.

Mario guessed that she was a little scared to discover to ancient door. Mario himself felt a little nervous. Only Frankly seemed fine. He jumped up onto the platform and approached the pedestal. Mario and Goombella followed. Frankly examined the pedestal for a moment.

"Hey, what's the deal with this weird pedestal, huh? What could it be, you think?" Frankly wondered out loud.

Mario remembered Goombella and Frankly discussing the door. They had said that in order to find the crystal stars, the legend said that you needed to hold the map before the door. Frankly and Goombella seemed to have forgotten in the excitement. Mario remembered however. He fished the map out of his pocket. Nothing happened so he jumped on the pedestal.

There was a bright flash and a blue light shot around the entire raised platform. This light revealed seven empty circles and Mario guessed that was where the crystal stars once sat. The map in Mario's hand lifted up and raised out of his hands. Mario just watched astonished as the map appeared to suck in energy. Mario grabbed the map just in time to see a huge, blue castle appear on the upper right corner of the map. It had appeared in a previously empty field next to a town. A silver crystal star had appeared in front of the castle. So this was where the first crystal star was hidden, in this mysterious castle. Mario looked up to see energy surge back out of the map. The energy appeared to bend reality as it shook the walls and sent dust and some small derbies raining down from the ceiling. Suddenly it was all over.

"Wait a minute..." said Mario.

He took another look at the map. Goombella and Frankly hopped onto the pedestal and did the same. Goombella finally broke the silence.

"Professor! The map! The lights, what happened?" she stammered, barley able to get the words out.

"Hrmmm... It appears that information related to the locations of the Crystal Stars appeared...And that shining light..." said Frankly trailing off.

"What just happened? Is this where the crystal star is?" asked Mario.

"I don't know...Well... One way or another... We should return to my place and study the map closely." stated Frankly. And with that, the trio left the area and returned to the bright streets of Rogueport.

* * *

Back at Frankly's house, Frankly sat down and had a look at the map.

"Let's have a look at that Magical Map and see what we can learn about the.." Frankly cut himself off and paused. He seemed to have discovered something.

"WOW! ASTOUNDING! This map seems to be able to pick up signals, like radar! It now shows the location of a Crystal Star! It looks like the first Crystal Star is to be found in a place called the Petal Meadows.

That sounded like a nice place, Mario thought to himself. He was about to ask about the place but Goombella beat him to it.

"Petal Meadows?" asked Goombella.

"Yes. The area is a vast meadow that lies far to the east of Rogueport. I always wondered about that place, its kind of... mysterious. The name Petal Meadows did come up from time to time in my research." replied Frankly.

"OK, fine. So we'll go there. Does anybody know how to get there or what? Goombella asked, her impatience showing.

"There is a way. Under the town actually. You can get there using my pipe again. Just turn right this time and you will be at the pipe to Pedal Meadows in no time!" said Frankly grandly.

With that he shut the book that he had been looking at.

"Say, by the way, Mario... I'm curious. Where did you get that map, anyway?" asked Frankly.

"Well it started one morning..." began Mario, telling Frankly about everything from when he got the letter, to when he arrived.

"From Princess Peach? Really? She sent this to you, Mario? This Princess Peach... This wouldn't be her, would it?" said Frankly as he held up a picture of Peach.

"Yeah! That's her." confirmed Mario.

"So it IS her! I bumped into her the other day. She was asking around about the treasure. I told her about the crystal stars... It doesn't seem likely, but perhaps she tried to go looking for them on her own..." Frankly voice trailed off.

Mario was about to begin worrying again but how bad could a place named Petal Meadows be?

"Y'know, Professor, there was another nasty group asking about the same thing." said Goombella. Mario thought back to when he had saved her from Crump.

"Hrmm... But I can't imagine Princess Peach getting involved with them." said Frankly.

He thought for a moment then seemed to reach a conclusion.

"All right! It's settled! Why don't you two go and check Pedal Meadows out? If Princess Peach indeed went there, your first priority must be to catch up to her. Collecting the Crystal Stars is a means to an end...and that end is Princess Peach!" said Frankly.

He handed the magical map back to Mario.

"Aren't you coming, Professor?" asked Goombella.

Mario knew there was no way that an old goomba like Frankly could possibly keep up. Fortunately, Frankly knew it too.

"No, I'll stay in town and ask around about Princess Peach and that suspicious gang. Also, I could never keep up with you hip young folk. Of course, if anything happens and you need some advice, come see me, OK?" said Frankly.

" You got it, Professor!" replied Goombella. She turned to Mario.

"Well Mario, we're off!" she cried. With that Mario and his partner left Frankly's house. Before they got too far away, Frankly ran out of his house after them.

"Mario! Just... be careful out there!" warned Frankly.

Mario and Goombella thanked Frankly and said their final farewells before they headed back down the pipe, into the sewers.

Mario emerged from the pipe first and led Goombella to the right this time. Mario saw a dirty looking water reservoir in front of them. He noticed two platforms leading to a pipe in the center of the lagoon. He and Goombella jumped over them and then went down the pipe. Right before his head disappeared down the pipe, Mario caught a glance of Goombario, watching from the other side of the reservoir... with a bright and encouraging smile on his face.

Their adventure had begun.

**Thank you for reading. Please leave a review if you enjoyed the story. It is much appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 1: Castle and Dragon

**Hello readers. I would like to apologize in advance for the length of this chapter. When I first started this story I had an idea that I would make it exactly like the game and have each chapter a chapter. I decided to break them up after this and I can't change it without uploading my story again. Anyway, it is time to leave the comfort of Rogueport and journey to a far off and mystical land. This land is hopefully the home of the first crystal star and maybe...just maybe, the light at the end of the tunnel for lost hope.**

Chapter 1: 

Castle and Dragon

Mario and Goombella emerged from the pipe. Mario took a good look around and was stunned by the beauty he saw. There were magnificent green trees sprouting up as far as the eye could see and the most colorful plants Mario had ever seen everywhere. Beautiful flowers poked up from the ground. There had to be hundreds of them! The sky was clear and the sun was shining. The temperature was warm and perfect. Mario decided that this was definitely one of the most beautiful places he had ever been to!

"Were here! The Petal Meadows, the home of the first of the crystal star. Well let's get to it! We have an adventure to go on!" yelled Goombella in excitement.

"Yeah! This place looks great!" said Mario with genuine enthusiasm.

What could possibly be wrong in an amazing place like this?

Mario and Goombella sat down for a second to check the map. As Mario pulled out the map, he enjoyed the feeling of the warm sunlight on his face and he could hear the sound of a stream in the distance, the soothing sound of water cutting through the air. This really was an amazing place. Mario closed his eyes and breathed in the crisp, clean air. The grass he was sitting on was warm from the sun and the actual ground was soft and comfortable as well. Mario checked the map quick to make sure they were still on the right track.

So, tell me about yourself." said Mario, setting down the map.

"Well, when I was a kid, I noticed that I was very different. All the other kids wanted to just hang out and do nothing. I always wanted to go on hikes and trips. I loved to go out and explore. My parents died in a plane crash when I was 15." said Goombella, looking at the ground.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sure they would be proud of how far you have come." said Mario.

"Thanks Mario. I want to tell you something." said Goombella, glancing back up at Mario.

"Ok. What is it?" asked Mario.

"Remember when we met? Do you know why I hid behind you? Because as soon as I saw you... "

There was a huge roaring sound suddenly. The ground shook and the trees wobbled, leaves dropping off. Mario staggered to his feet and spun around looking for the source. He saw nothing but he could hear the sound of huge wings flapping. Suddenly, the entire field he was in was covered in shadow. Mario saw Goombella's shocked expression and knew she must be freaking out. The sun returned after a good ten seconds. The flapping sound faded.

"What... the hell was that?" Goombella stammered, shaking a bit.

"Is that a... a... LOOK AT THAT!" yelled Goombella.

Mario spun around and looked in the direction she was facing. The first thing he saw was an enormous stone castle off on the distant hills. It had three massive towers, the center one with a huge stone room on the top. It almost looked like… a perch? The second thing he saw was the dragon. It was red with a yellow stomach and it had a huge tail that hung down. As Mario watched, the dragon soared through the air, circling the castle before finally disappearing into the highest point, the perch on top of the middle tower. Mario looked back in disbelief. He could feel his legs shaking. This place was supposed to be peaceful! Nobody had said anything about a dragon!

"I can't believe that I just saw a dragon! Wow!" stammered Goombella.

"So much for the peaceful Pedal Meadows!" said Mario in disbelief.

"Yeah... I thought Professor Frankly said this was a calm place. Wow! Crazy! I can't believe there is already a mystery to be solved! C'mon, Mario! Let's go!" said Goombella.

"Right behind you." assured Mario, lacing up his boots which had come untied.

He once again found himself admiring Goombella's enthusiasm. They had just both watched a dragon fly over them and into the castle where the crystal star was supposedly held and she seemed excited.

Directly in front of the distant castle, where Mario and Goombella were, there were many rocks surrounding a stone pillar. Two rocks had indentations in them. One was in the shape of a moon, one in the shape of a star. They seemed right in front of the distant castle even though the castle was about a mile off into the distance. They continued and started to see the familiar striped blue poles which signaled that a town was just ahead.

"Mario! I can see the enterance to Petalburg." yelled Goombella from somewhere ahead.

Mario took a last look over the lush fields but the beauty of this place was lost to Mario after what he had just witnessed. A dragon. That's what was wrong with this perfect place.

In the quiet town of Pedalburg, Mayor Kroop looked out of his window and at the peaceful koopas of the town. Pedalburg was once a lovely town full of flowers, clear streams, fresh air, and year round sun but now it was a place of terror and grief. The dragon Hooktail had been attacking the town and the people who lived there. The koopas who lived there had once walked the beautiful streets safely and without a care in the world. Now, the streets lay abandoned with only an occasionaly person briskly walking home. Everyone lived in mortal fear of being eaten by Hooktail if they went outside. Kroop could do nothing. After all, what was an old koopa like him supposed to do to stop a dragon? People hardly ever visited at all anymore due to the horrifying stories of Hooktail's attacks. They had lost about 15 koopas in the past year due to them, most with families. Their only person who had a chance of fighting Hooktail was Kooply. He was the strongest koopa the town had ever seen and he had left his son to fight Hooktail about ten years ago now. He hadn't come back. That must have meant that he had failed and was definitely dead. Kroop looked again at the town that had once been so peaceful. It had almost been a heaven on earth, their little slice of paradise. Now, the streets lay empty and the koopas lived their lives in darkness. Times had changed all right.

"Another day... Just another day." Koops said to no one in particular.

He was lonely. Koops was a resident of Pedalburg, about 20 years old, but he was afraid to do anything anymore after he had seen what Hooktail was capable of. He desperately wanted to rid the lands of that dragon but what could he do? He was a shy koopa that never talked, left the house, or showed any courage at all, or at least that is what people thought of him. His girlfriend Koopie Koo knocked on the door for the thousandth time that day. She never left Koops alone and acted like a worried mother most of the time. Koops ignored the knocking and sunk to the floor in a dark corner of his house, to depressed to even light a fire in the fireplace.

He had been born into a world where he was free and happy. Koop's best momories were walking through the town as the days were changing and the days were getting cool at the beginning of fall. He would stroll along the path and breathe the crisp and cool air as the friendly people of the town headed home for the night. The smell of fresh pies baking would hang in the air as Koops would sit down and admire the beauty of the colorful trees, and crispness of the air, and how good his life was.

This changed when Hooktail began to attack the town. Suddenly, there was no more good feelings and memories. The once lively streets fell quiet and the legendary festivities and beautiful days of relaxation now seemed like a distant dream that Koop's had once had when he was a kid. It felt as though he had finally woken up into the real world grief and fear. He wanted to get his revenge on Hooktail. All he needed was to work up the courage to fight him. Sounded simple enough but this was the real world. Koops then thought about what Hooktail had done and his anger flooded back. There was no way that he would let this continue forever. He would kill Hooktail, he would watch the light fade from the dragon's eyes. Heroic thoughts flooded his mind but there were more knocks from outside his door and Koops felt his courage breaking as Koopie Koo called for her pathetic boyfriend to let her in. He curled into a ball and pulled himself farther into the darkness of his house and began to cry. He was nothing except a shy and hopeless koopa. He couldn't fight Hooktail, he was just a kid who would probably live the rest of his life wishing he had changed something. He once had a happy life but it ended years ago and would never begin again. He was alone.

Mario and Goombella had reached the entrance to Pedalburg. Mario looked around, there were a few koopas strolling along the path but they all looked wary like they were expecting to have to run inside at any moment. Despite the beautiful town and sunny day, the mood was very grim. Mario was greeted by a koopa with bright green boots standing next to the gate.

"Welcome, welcome!" said the Koopa cheerfully. Mario noticed that the koopa's voice was strained. Like he was afraid.

"Where are we?" asked Mario.

"Why, this is Petalburg! I'm sorry about the less then warm welcome from the town. We haven't seen any visitors in about three... yes three years now. Maybe it's because were so far away? Or maybe it's because of Hooktail. Once that dragon Hooktail began attacking this area... yeah... lets just say we haven't seen visitors for a while." said the koopa sadly.

"Dragon? Hooktail? That must've been that dragon we saw earlier, Mario! So anyway, uh... Green Boots, whatever your name is, have you ever heard of these things called Crystal Stars? We kinda are looking for them. It's very important!" said Goombella impatiently.

The koopa didn't seem to notice her impatience though.

"Crystal Stars? Hmmm... Nope, I really haven't heard anything about them. Sorry. Why don't you talk to the mayor? He's old... Really, really, really old. As such, he knows all kinds of stuff we don't. Koopas of his age are...um...really smart. Anyway, you can find the mayor in his new house. It is bright pink." replied the Koopa, scratching his stomach.

"A pink house? Ugh...Well at least it will be easy to find." said Goombella shaking her head.

"Sounds good. Let's just make sure we find it before Hooktail attacks this village again!" replied Mario.

"Too right." said Goombella.

Mario and Goombella continued through the village. For a place of misery and fear, it was a really charming place. There was a beautiful clear stream that ran through it with flowers poking up everywhere. Butterflies fluttered through the air and arond the flowers, performing an almost magestic dance. Mario looked at the houses perched on the rolling hills. They were all charming little houses of various shapes, sizes, and colors. They were all close together and many had big windows and open porches.

"Hey Mario. It seems like the people here used to know how to have a good time!" said Goombella, glancing over at a huge fire pit that looked like it hadn't been used in ages.

Mario saw a white Bob bomb on the hill and stopped to ask him directions to the mayor's house. The Bob Bomb didn't seem to want to talk though. He said something about "losing his hopes and dreams,'' then asked to be left alone. Mario and Goombella moved on. They finally spotted the mayor's house. There was a blue colored house next to it with a pretty looking koopa with long and flowing blond hair just standing there at the door. Mario wondered why she was just waiting outside the house. She knocked on the door a few times but there was no answer. Mario soon lost interest and turned back to the mayor's house and followed Goombella in.

Mayor Kroop was an extremely old koopa with a cane and a long white beard and huge, bushy white eyebrows. His shell had even started to wrinkle. He was sitting in a comfy looking armchair in front of a roaring fire, sipping a glass of tea. Mario walked up and said hello. The mayor jumped up from his armchair, spilling his tea everwhere. He seemed terrified. His huge eyebrows seemed to be blocking his probably already poor vision.

"Who is it? WHO? LEAVE ME ALONE! WHAT DO YOU WANT?" he yelled.

"Woah calm down! I'm Mar..."

"I get it! THIEVES! Here to rob an elderly koopa! Like I don't have enough problems already!" spat the mayor.

"Thieves? Hold it grandpa! Were not thieves!" yelled Goombella.

"I guess I can't change your mind. Go ahead and take what you want. I have a bit of money. Here's a twenty. Oh I guess you can have my first shell too. Let's see... Perhaps my golden fireplace poker will satisfy you greedy tastes you fiends! Just leave the pictures of me and my wife. Timeless memories..." said Kroop sadly.

Mario finally got a long enough pause to explain himself.

"What? Not thieves, you say? Your folks looking for Crystal Stars?" rasped Kroop.

"Uh...Yes." said Mario, shaking his head.

"Well, why didn't you pipe up before, you twat! You've wasted two minutes of my life! The Crystal Stars you're looking for... Errrmm... Wait... What did I hear about those damn things, again?" said Kroop. He paused to think for a minute.

"Oh yes! Hooktail! The crystal star is hidden in Hooktail's castle. Hooktail is this huge, scary dragon. Eats folks, quite often actually. Heard of him?" asked Kroop.

"Yeah, we've head of him." said Goombella, shaking her head.

"Well, Hooktail's raids on our town have certainly taken a bit of a toll on our town. So, are you fools... I mean... are you heroes off to kill our dragon?" asked Kroop.

"Wait! Is there any way to get the crystal star without having to kill a dragon?" asked Mario desperately.

"This DOES sound promising! Why, if you can get rid of Hooktail, the town might return to the way it was years ago. I can go outside again! I finally will get a chance to try on those socks that my son sent me fourteen years ago!" the old koopa almost yelled.

"Perfect! He's senile!" muttered Goombella under her breath.

"What did you say your name was?" asked Kroop.

"My name is Mario." said Mario.

"...Henery? Hmm... What a name! It reminds me of the good old days when I was a young'un. Well now, Henery..." said Kroop.

"His name is MARIO!" said Goombella impatiently.

"I appreciate that, Henery! I have been growing these eyebrows since the day they invented canned tuna. Now, listen up. If you idiots are really going to fight Hooktail, you have to find the secret entrance to the castle. It was lost many years ago. If you do find it, you will need two keys to open it. The keys are somewhere in Shhwonk Fortress, just past the village. Get them first." said Kroop.

Shhwonk fortress? Thought Mario. Sounded dangerous. He knew what he had to do though and agreed to go and get the keys.

"Well then, Henery... Get going and rid us of our terrible dresser! I mean dragon!" said Kroop and with that, he sat down and seemed to have fallen asleep. Mario and Goombella left and headed out towards the gate.

Koops had been sitting down, feeling unbelievably empty inside. There was another knock on the door. Koopie koo was still at his door. Koops sighed. Even his girlfriend, who was supposed to think he was great and take care of him, thought he was weak, and a coward. He remembered when Koopie Koo and himself had been shopping in Rogueport recently. A goomba had started to get mugged, right in front of them. Koopie Koo had tried to get Koops to stop it but he had just stood there, terrified, to scared to intervene. The thugs then advanced on Koopie Koo. They tried to take her purse when Koops finally grabbed one of them and told them to stop. The thug whirled around, bringing up a switchblade that Koops hadn't seen before. He tried to run but wasn't quick enough. The guy swung the knife downwards and Koops caught it right on his beak, spraying Koopie Koo with his blood. Koops fell to the ground with a switchblade sticking out of his face, out cold. Koopie Koo had dragged his lifeless body away to the hospital. Even Koopie Koo thought he was a hopeless coward.

Just then, Koops heard someone go into Koop's house.

"That's odd." Koops said to himself.

People usually stayed away from the mayor's home, especially after the last time someone had went to talk to him. Kroop had flipped out because he thought a thief had broken into his home. Since Koops lived right next to the mayor, he could hear his conversations. Sure enough, Koops heard the mayor shouting and he knew the same thing must be happening again. Koops was about to stop listening when he heard Hooktail mentioned. He froze and listened.

Someone wanted to fight Hooktail! He didn't know what crystal stars were but maybe this person would let him come along! Valiant thoughts, but it certainly wasn't the first time Koops had convinced himself that he would definently go after Hooktail. However, if he could convince this person to let him come to Hooktail's castle and if by some miracle he didn't break down with fear, he could avenge all the pain and tears Hooktail had caused him.

Koops heard the door open and saw a short man with a mustache and dressed in red head towards the gates followed by an attractive goomba girl with a helmet and long blonde hair. Koops stood at his door and tried to work up enough courage to simply open it and ask this man to let him come along but he just couldn't open the door. He imagined this stranger fighting Hooktail and the town praising him, and then it would be all over. Koops would never be at ease if someone took care of his problems for him. Koops knew he had to fight Hooktail himself. But how could such a pathetic koopa like him face this task? Koops decided that he would do it no matter what. He would go with this stranger, and he would show Koopie Koo and the entire town of Pedalburg that he was more then met the eye. If he lived, he would be a complete hero and if he didn't live... well it would certainly be better then living with all the regrets. He just wondered how he would ask this man this enormous favor. Koops grabbed his hoodie and ran out the door after the stranger and possibly, his big chance to avenge his town and finally start living again.

Mario and Goombella were heading east towards the gate that would take them to Shhwonk fortress where the keys they needed were hidden. As Mario was passing yet more charming homes and beautiful scenery, his phone buzzed. He had received an text from Frankly. Mario hoped it would contain useful information that Frankly had discovered but he was just an awkwardly written text wishing them luck.

Mario and Goombella reached the eastern gate of the town. It was being watched over by another Koopa. He looked about 25, also with green boots.

"Hello there. Can you tell us how to get to Shhwonk Fortress? The mayor says we have to go there to find some sort of key" said Mario.

"Shhwonk Fortress? Yeah it's up ahead. There is some sort of stone creature living there. At least, thats what the rumor says. This gate keeps it out of the town. If the mayor said you can pass though, you certainly can. Be careful out there!" said the koopa as he opened it for them.

He and Goombella were just about to leave when heard a voice.

"Umm...Hey! Err... I..I beg your pardon! Could you wait a moment!" yelled a desperate sounding voice.

Mario turned around. A young koopa with a blue hoodie, jeans, sneakers, and a shiny green shell stood there. He was sure dressed differently then most koopas and he had a small bandage on his beak. He looked a lot younger then most koopas to, maybe about 20.

"I'm sorry that I yelled... I was freaking out...wow. Umm... How to begin? I am called...I mean.. My name is K-Koops. I...uh...I heard you're going to Hooktail's castle. So... anyway, I, uh... I have a favor to ask." stuttered Koops, scratching behind his ear.

"Sure, what is it?" asked Mario, interested.

Koops kept opening his mouth like he was about to talk then cutting himself off.

"Well... Ummmm... Oh, just... forget it. Never mind. Good... Good-bye." muttered Koops sadly and turned, slouched, and walked away.

Mario couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor guy. He seemed awfully upset.

"Okay... That was...strange." said Goombella, snickering.

"He seemed really upset about something. Or maybe he was nervous." replied Mario.

"Yeah. Maybe... what a downer. Anyway, let's go. Those keys aren't going to find themselves." said Goombella.

"Right." said Mario as he turned and left, Koops weighing heavily on his mind.

Back in Rogueport, Frankly had been getting nowhere. He had asked many people about Peach but everyone seemed to be turning up blanks. He had been mugged on the way back to his house by some bandit who took his wallet. It was a rough town. Empty handed, he had sent a message to Mario wishing him luck. It was the least he could do. Frankly felt himself worrying about Mario and Goombella though. Frankly knew they would probably be fine and he shouldn't worry. After all, there couldn't possibly be any problem with a peaceful place like Pedal Meadows.

Mario and Goombella traveled down a stone path with lush trees, swaying in the gental breeze on both sides. He found himself thinking about Koops. What did he want? Why did he sound so desperate? Questions flooded Mario's mind. The traveling was easy at first. Mario and Goombella only encountered a few goombas. At last, he and Goombella reached the fortress. They entered a huge stone room with two pillars. These pillars had ugly statures on them. The gate was barred.

"Any ideas?" asked Mario

"There is some writing on the second pillar. Check it out." said Goombella.

Mario began to walk over to the pillar but before he could, there was a rumbling. Mario looked at the statue on top of the pillar. It was a statue of a short, round creature made out of stone with two huge feet but no legs. As Mario watched, it shook then opened its eyes. Its pupils were bright red.

"Woah! Look out!" yelled Mario

"Theres another one!" yelled Goombella.

Mario looked over at the other pillar and saw that the other creature had come to life also. They both jumped down from the pillars at the same time landing with a thundering BANG! The stone floor cracked and cloud of dust fell from the ceiling. Mario quickly pulled out his hammer and swung at the first of the creatures. The hammer cracked against the stone painfully which caused him to drop the hammer. The creature didn't even bat an eye.

"What do I do?" asked Mario, desperately.

"Uh... these are stone clefts. They are really tough. It will be hard to hurt them!" replied Goombella, eyeing the clefts warily.

One of them charged Mario. Mario dived out of the way and the stone creature slammed into the wall which cracked and then crumbled, falling forward.

"Look out!" yelled Mario

Both he and Goombella dived forwards as the massive stone wall crashed to the ground behind them with a thundering bang, rumbling the whole castle. Mario pulled himself to his feet, getting ready for the next attack but he discovered that the two creatures were no longer there. They were buried under the massive pile of rubble. There was no way they were getting out of there.

"That was lucky!" said Goombella in relief, brushing dust off herself.

"Yeah! I don't know how we would have gotten past them otherwise." replied Mario.

They took a break for a second to get their breath back then proceeded through the fortress until it opened up into a much larger chamber. It was completely overgrown with thick vines and ivy which made it hard to see the hole in the ground near the back of the room. Mario saw it first.

"So I guess the keys are down there." said Mario, pointing at the hole.

"Race ya to it!" cried Goombella as she jumped into the hole.

Mario still found himself amazed by Goombella's determination. He was so lucky to have run into her. He couldn't imagine where he would be without her. He would probably be still wandering around Rogueport, getting nowhere, alone. Mario jumped in after her and foudn himself in another sewer.

"Yuck! I am getting so sick of these sewers!" wailed Goombella.

Mario and Goombella headed to the right. There was a long, foggy corridor with a dark stream of water running through the center. Mario shivered involuntarily. The chilling dampness of the sewers was getting to him. He started to walk forward when he was movement. Mario first though he saw black balls bouncing off the walls but then he heared a high pitched cackle and realized that the balls were actually Fuzzies.

"Alright, were just gonna run though here and we should be fine." instructed Mario.

"Got it. Ready?" asked Goombella.

"Yup. 3...2...1... Run!"

With that, both Mario and Goombella took off running across the room. The Fuzzies let out bone chilling shrieks of excitement and bounced after them.

"Keep moving!" yelled Mario.

He could see a doorway about 50 feet ahead of him. Goombella made it to the door first and ran through. Mario was about to run through when he was hit in the side. He was taken off balence and staggered sideways. More and more Fuzzies jumped on him until he couldn't move.

"Mario!" yelled Goombella from somewhere behind him.

Mario tried to bat the Fuzzies away but they just kept coming. He was just about to give up hope when they suddenly all dropped off him and retreated. Mario pulled himself up quickly in case they decided to come back.

"Are you okay?" asked Goombella, concerned.

"Yeah. They just retreated. Any ideas why?" asked Mario.

"Not a clue"

They both walked through the door and into the next chamber. In it, Mario found the first key, It was in the shape of a star. Mario and Goombella retraced their steps and went into the left chamber this time which was exactly the same as the first. In the far room, they found the moon shaped key.

Mario and Goombella returned to where the hole was to find a golden fuzzy waiting for them.

"HEY! Watcha up to guys? Wanna stick around and play for a bit?" squeaked the Fuzzy, bouncing up and down.

Mario felt his skin crawl. He really hated Fuzzies.

"Nope." said Goombella rather flatly.

"I see. Not a very nice one here, no sire. Oh well, you don't want to play, so you get to die instead!" squealed the fuzzy, bouncing forwards.

Mario and Goombella met him warmly. Mario hit in a few times and Goombella headbonked him until he was on the ground, panting.

"Everyone! GET 'EM!" yelled the golden fuzzy.

Hundreds of fuzzies crawled out of every nook and cranny in the chamber and descended on Mario and Goombella. Mario managed to hit most of them away by swinging his hammer wildly around. Eventually they had all fled and that left Mario, Goombella, and the golden fuzzy. Mario pulled out his hammer and held it in front of the injured golden Fuzzy.

"Had enough?" asked Mario.

"Yes! Just leave us, please!" begged the Fuzzy weakly.

"Lets head on out." said Mario, putting his hammer away.

"You can say that again." said Goombella, eager to get out of the sewers.

Mario was starting to feel tired. Maybe he would catch a nap in Pedalburg before he set off for Hooktail's castle. He and Goombella followed the path they had taken back to Pedalburg. Mario and Goombella then headed for the Inn to catch a few minutes of sleep.

Koops sat alone in his house. He was so angry at himself! He had failed, his courage had faded and now the stranger probably thought he had mental problems or something. How could he have messed up so bad again? Koops was about to give up and go to bed, like he had been doing for the last 10 years but then he heard Hooktail's roar off in the distance. Koops then realized that Hooktail would never stop unless someone had dealt with him. Koops though back to how happy he had been years ago before Hooktail had ruined his life. Koops felt a powerful surge of anger. No! No way was he going to sit here while some stranger tried to fight Hooktail. Koops would be at his side. He would not back down again. It was time for Koops to do what he should of done years ago. Koops walked out the door and stormed towards the gate to Pedalburg. Then he waited.

Mario and Goombella meanwhile had finished their power nap and was ready to get going. All they had to do was get to the castle, fight a dragon, and get the crystal star. Easy stuff, right? Mario couldn't believe the task that was ahead of him. He and Goombella had reached the gates.

"Thanks for visiting our town. Please visit us again." said the gatekeeper.

"Well make sure to." said Goombella, rolling her eyes.

"Oh and will you let me know if you see a Koopa, about 20 years old out there? He left and has been gone for a few hours. I'm starting to worry."

"Yeah, sure thi... what?" asked Mario.

"Umm... Excuse Me..." said a voice from somewhere in the distance. Mario recognized the sad voice. He looked up and saw Koops standing outside the gate, by himself.

"Watcha doin out there buddy?" yelled Goombella as she and Mario walked over to him.

"Uh...nothing." muttered Koops, looking at the ground.

"Its you again! What's up?" asked Mario

Koops felt his legs shaking. He gathered up his courage.

"It's... It's Mario, right? Look, I... Ummmm... Well... I've been waiting here for a while. I really need to talk to you about something. I have to ask you something, and you can say no, but I'm gonna say it anyway." he said.

Koops gulped. It was time.

"Ummmmmm... Well You see... The truth is... OH, PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU TO FIGHT HOOKTAIL! PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU!" he screamed at the top of his lungs!

Mario was taken aback. So this was what this kid had wanted. All along he had wanted to fight Hooktail. Mario's first thought was one of concern. Koops was probably in his early twenties with his whole life ahead of him but he wanted to throw it away to fight a dragon?

"Wait, so you want to risk your life to fight Hooktail? Why would you want to take that risk?" asked Mario puzzled.

"I heard you talking to Kroop. He mentioned something about a guy named Kooply going off to fight Hooktail. Right?" asked Koops.

"Yeah... and he never came back. The idiot probably got himself eaten. Not very smart huh?" replied Goombella.

"Yeah... well...he was my dad." said Koops.

Goombella gasped and stared at Koops, speechless. Mario tried to say something but no words came. That one sentence changed everything.

"That... that was your dad? I'm so sorry. Now I know why you were acting like that before. I feel terrible." said Goombella, sympathetically.

"It's alright. You didn't know." replied Koops.

"I see. So you want to avenge your father." said Mario, the pieces coming together in his mind.

"Well... yes, but this isn't all about that, well actually a lot of it is about revenge but I really want to finish what my Dad started, you know, make sure his death isn't in vein... for his sake... for everyone's sake." said Koops.

Koops finished. It was true. Ten long years ago, his dad had decided enough was enough and had set out to put an end to Hooktail, fully aware that there was a strong chance that he would never see his son again. Koops was still a kid, ten years old. He remembered the day like it was yesterday. He had just woken up to see his dad putting on his coat and hat, about to leave.

"Hey dad! Good Morning!" he had said cheerfully.

"Oh... hey son." his dad had said.

Koops remembered how sad he had sounded while he said that. He just wished it had made sense to him then.

"What's going on?" he asked.

His father glanced at the floor, then at the clock, then finally at him.

"Koops, you know I love you dearly and we will always be together... right?" his dad asked.

"Yeah dad. What's wrong?" he asked.

His dad sniffled and wiped at his face. He slowly sank to a kneeling position.

"It's nothing. I just... I'm going on a little trip. I don't know when I'll be back, I'm hoping I'll be home soon." he said with great difficulty.

Koops didn't understand what his dad's problem was. Why was he acting so sad?

"Well... I guess I be leaving." said Kooply as he turned and pulled open the door. The pale morning light trickled into their house. A cool breeze blew through. Koop's dad started to leave but then turned around.

"Hey Koops, why don't you go with your old man for a quick walk, you know... like we used to? I haven't gotten a chance to really talk to you for a while. How about it?" asked his Dad.

"Well I'd love to but... I can't. I'm supposed to meet Koopie Koo for breakfast in ten minutes." said Koops, putting on his hoodie.

"Oh! Really? Well... alright then. Maybe some other time then... I hope." said his Dad. He hung his head and turned to leave. He had turned around one last time before he left.

"Koops, I love you more then anything in the world. I will always be with you. Take good care of the town. I love you." was what he had said... the last thing Koops had ever heard him say.

Koopley put on his hat, and walked out the door, and out of his son's life. A week passed with no sign of him. Koops had gone to mayor Kroop to see what had happened.

"Oh Koopley, the brave fool went to fight Hooktail. Said he needed to do it for the town's sake. He hasn't come back yet has he?"

Koops shook his head, cold panic coming over him.

"Well we won't be seeing him again." said Kroop, unaware that he had basically just told Koops that his father was dead.

Koops had not believed it at first. He allowed himself to think that his dad was victorious and had defeated Hooktail. One morning though, Hooktail had attacked the town again, taking two of Koop's childhood friends with him. His dad was gone. Since that day, Koops had been alone. His girlfriend Koopie Koo had tried to help but he had been so overcome with grief from loosing his dad that he knew he would never be happy again and didn't see a point in trying.

Koops could feel tears streaming down his face. Mario and Goombella had listened in silence. Mario discovered to his amazement that Goombella had tears brimming in her eyes. Mario couldn't believe what Koops had been through.

"I'm... I'm sorry that I have been acting so strange. You see, everyone thinks I am a coward... and can't do anything. I have always believed them... until now. All I wan't to do is to help... Please... my father would have appreciated it" said Koops in between sobs. He had one last thing to say.

"I know that I might be killed up there but I don't care. I would rather die fighting then live with nothing. I...I have to do this. Can I... could I please go with you guys?" asked Koops.

Mario looked at the Koopa in front of him. This kid had been through more then Mario could imagine and had been miserable for ten years. All he wanted to do was to make things right, for his town, for his dad, for everyone.

"Of course you can go. Your going to make you dad proud." said Mario.

Koops felt joy flood into his miserable heart. His chance... the chance he had been waiting for had come.

"Thank you so much... It means so much to me. I will die fighting by your side if that is what it takes." said Koops.

"Hey. No one else is going to die. Hooktail's time is up." said Mario.

"Wrong... someone else is going to die... Hooktail." snickered Goombella.

"So. Lets see your moves." said Mario.

"I thought you would never ask." chuckled Koops.

He went into his shell, spun around, and launched himself at a medium sized rock that was in the grassy field next to the gates. His shell connected with a crack, and the rock split in two with a loud crack.

Mario was impressed. For a koopa that seemed so down a while ago, this opportunity seemed he was given a whole new light.

"Thanks for everything Mario! We wave a dragon to fight!" said Koops cheerfully!

He turned and was about to leave when Koopie Koo appeared at the gate. Koops figured she was going to try to stop him.

"Koops..." she said quietly. Koops didn't really know what to say. He was definitely not turning back.

"Shit..." Koops muttered under his breath. "Did you... did you overhear everything we just said?"

"Well, yes but I assume I must have heard wrong... I THOUGHT I heard you say the words _fight_ and _Hooktail _in the same sentence... But your joking... you must be... he'll tear you apart! I mean you now exactly strong or anything!" said Koopie Koo.

Koops felt anger welling up inside of him. This was exactly what he wanted to end. People always thought he was weak and a coward. He would show them all.

"I'm probably stronger then you think. And I have help my town, rid it of this danger! For you... for everyone...So I have to do this..." replied Koops hoping he sounded stronger then he felt.

"No, Koops, you don't. Listen to yourself... this is crazy! Hooktail will kill you! This will be the last thing you ever do! Please... please don't go... I don't care if you are kind of a baby sometimes. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please..." begged Koopie Koo.

Koops felt his heart melting. There was nothing he could do... He looked up at Koopie Koo. This would be hard but Koops had to do it.

"No. I'm not going back. I'm sorry, Koopie Koo... I've made up my mind." he said coldly. That was that. He could see that Koopie Koo had lost hope.

"FINE! IGNORE ME!" she yelled. She turned and began walking away.

"I'm so sorry, Koopie Koo... I swear to you... I'll come back!" he yelled after her. She didn't look back.

"Well, that's...that's it, I guess. No turning back! Hooktail's castle awaits." he said.

With that, Mario, Goombella, and Koops turned and began walking down the road. Koops thought again about all Hooktail had done to him and he felt his anger raging. He had managed to keep it to himself but it was welling up inside him. He would show them all that he was strong and brave. He would avenge his father and his town. Hooktail was going to die and Koops was ready to fight to the death to see this. He would kill Hooktail personally... or die trying. For the first time in ten years, Koops was happy.

Koopie Koo had returned to her house. She felt angry and sad at the same time. Koops has completely ignored her! A wave of dread had also rolled over her. There was no way a weak guy like Koops could take on a dragon! Koopie Koo sat back and waited. She hoped that she hadn't just seen Koops for the last time.

Mario, Koops, and Goombella had been walking towards the lost entrance to Hooktail's castle. Koops had proved he was a useful fighter by taking down a few goombas easily. He also was tougher due to his shell. Mario was glad he had let Koops come with him. The group reached the area that Mario and Goombella had passed on the way to Pedalburg. There were many stones. Two had an indent, one of a star and one of a moon. Mario inserted the keys into the stones. The ground rumbled for a minute. The stone in the middle cracked and then crumbled, revealing a pipe that had been concealed inside it. The once lost path to Hooktail's castle had been found.

Mario went first, then Goombella. Koops jumped on the pipe, and turned to take a last look at his town in the distance. Maybe his father had done the same thing? Although, Koops imagined leaving behind a son was much different then a girlfriend. Koops took a last look then entered the pipe.

After traveling through the pipe, Mario, Koops, and Goombella stood in front of the castle.

"Wow!" stammered Goombella.

The castle was bigger then any castle Mario had ever been in before. It had towers jutting out at all sorts of angles and must have been 600 feet tall. Huge walls surrounded the center castle on all sides. Mario looked up at the tallest center tower. Sure enough, there was a huge room at the top which must have been the perch where Hooktail lived. Mario led his partners over the drawbridge and they prepared to open the huge red doors of the castle. Out of the corner of his eye, Mario saw Koops breathing hard as if bracing himself for whatever terrible secrets Hooktail's castle might hold. They opened the door and proceeded into castle and hopefully, the first crystal star.

"Here we are. Time to make things right..." said Koops in a shaky voice.

The first thing Mario noticed about the castle was that it was freezing! It must have been 15 degrees colder inside it. The walls were all made of crumbling stone that was damp and cold. The lack of windows made the hall look very dark and intimidating. As Mario's eyes adjusted to the dark, he noticed something that made his skin crawl. There were piles of bones everywhere.

"What the hell has been going on in this castle?" asked Goombella, glancing at the bones.

"I have no idea. Maybe these people used to work here or something." suggested Mario.

They both glanced over at Koops who was unable to look away from the piles of bones.

"Don't worry. Everything is going to be okay." reassured Mario, even though he didn't believe it anymore.

There were bars on all the windows and cells everywhere. This place liked like some kind of torture chamber. Maybe it used to be one. There was no time to find out. The group moved into the next room. This room had at least 4 cells in it. There were more piles of bones in here too. Mario ignored them and walked to the door on the far side of the room. He noticed that there was another pile of bones blocking this door. It might have been in his mind but this pile of bones looked like it used to be red. There were faded red marks all over the bones. Mario bent down to move them but it suddenly sprang up! Mario staggered backwards. The creature looked like a koopa, but it was just bones.

"What's that?" cried Koops

"Its a Red Bones! Their really nasty." yelled Goombella.

The Red Bones looked over Mario and then Koops and Goombella. With a hissing sound, it began to walk towards them. Suddenly, the whole room was filled with creaking sounds. Mario glanced around and noticed that all the piles of bones in the room were standing up. Mario watched as the ancient piles of bones climbed to their feet as if waking from a long rest. Soon, the Red Bones and at least fifty other skeletons were silently advancing on them.

"Get behind me!" yelled Mario, pulling out his hammer.

Mario felt his skin crawl. The way the skeletons moved was just to creepy for him. He continued to back up, an army of the bones in front of him. What had they gotten themselves into? The skeletons quickly surrounded them and formed a circle around them, blocking any means of escape. They moved in closer and closer, the circle tightning. The Red Bones silently led them, rocking back and forth on its creaking joints. It was so close, Mario could look into its empty eye sockets.

"Hey Mario? I don't know about you but I think its time to kick some ass." said Goombella, taking a step forward.

Shocked, Mario turned towards Koops to discover the anger in his eyes.

"Lets get them." growled Koops.

That was all Mario needed. He charged forwards past Goombella and Koops and crashed into the Red Bones. He brought his hammer up in an arch which took its skeletal head clean off. He then turned to the army of Skeletons who were no longer moving like they were in a trance. The first one charged forward at him and took a flying leap. Mario dived to the ground as the skeleton flew over his head and broke into pieces. Mario rolled over and swung his hammer upwards. He felt his hands jolt as the hammer connected with at least three more, cracking and shattering their old and dusty bones. Mario quickly got to his feet.

"Look out!" yelled Koops.

Mario turned around to see the headless Red Bones standing behind him, holding its severed skull. In one fluid motion, the Red Bones snapped it back onto its neck. Mario tried to bring around the hammer but the Red Bones slammed its fists into Mario's chest which sent him flying backwards into a group of the other Skeletons which broke apart on impact. Mario looked up to see the Red Bones standing over him. It raised its leg to stomp down but Koops was to quick for it. There was a loud crack as Koop's shell slammed into the Red Bones legs, cracking them like twigs. Mario got to his feet and brought his hammer down on its skeletal head which broke into millions of pieces with a sickening crunch.

The other Skeletons were dropping like flies. Mario saw Koops fighting them to his right and Goombella fighting them to his left. He ran over and helped them take down the last of the Skeletons. Soon, the last one had fallen.

"Wow. That was something." said Koops while gasping for breath.

He and Goombella were breathing extremely hard. They were tired after that fight. Mario gave them a minute to rest and then they headed deeper into the depths of Hooktail's castle.

As Mario entered the next room, another skeleton sprang up to greet him. One swing from his hammer reduced it to a pile of bones again. The air seemed to be growing colder by the minute. The next room contained 3 cells. There was no door. Mario noticed a switch on the wall, next to one of the cells. He hit it and the jail cell lifted up and they proceeded through.

Mario went into the next room first. It was empty.

"Hey Goombella, wait a sec. Koops, lets just check this room out quick." said Mario.

Mario and Koops proceded forward and took a quick look around the room. They found nothing. It was a dead end. Mario turned to leave but he suddenly felt his foot sink down. There was a rumbling sound.

"Holy shit! The ceiling!" yelled Koops.

Mario looked up and saw that it had begun to slide down towards them. Suddenly, massive spikes suddenly jutted up all around them. There seemed to be a path through but it wasn't easy to follow.

"Run! Hurry!" yelled Mario frantically.

He ran. Koops followed close behind. Together they zig zagged around the maze of spikes. The ceiling was getting closer. Mario suddenly hit a dead end! Koops looked around and pulled Mario back. In maybe ten seconds, they would be crushed. Mario ran the other way this time. Koops followed another path. Mario hit a dead end. Suddenly Koops called out for him. He had found the exit! Mario sprinted towards Koops. He now had to duck to avoid hitting the ceiling. Mario dived for the exit. He came up short.

"Grab my hand!" yelled Koops. Mario took it and Koops jerked him through the passage as the ceiling met the floor with a thunderous boom. Mario and Koops stood there shaking. Goombella didn't know what to say. She had almost seen Mario and Koops crushed. Mario began to wonder if there was really a chance of them surviving this deathtrap. Koops was the first to catch his breath.

"Were okay... were all okay" Koops said in a shaky voice.

"Were lucky. That was really close. I guess we should head back and see if we missed anything." said Mario.

The group backtracked. Mario decided to try a staircase they had missed before. There was an old, creaky elevator.

"I don't like the looks of that." said Koops.

Neither did Mario. It seemed to be the only way though. The group climbed on. The elevator creaked and moaned but it did its job. It took them to a flight of stairs. Mario climbed up and entered the first door. It led to a long passageway that hung over one of the main halls they had already passed through. There was a big gap in the path. Koops took a running jump and landed hard on the other side.

"Jump. I got you Mario." he said.

Mario looked down. There was at least a 50 foot drop. He didn't like the looks of this but he had no choice. Goombella grabbed onto him. Mario took a running start and leaped. He came up short but Koops dived for him and caught him. Mario could feel Koop's hand shaking. He was dangling off the edge of the platform with only Koops stopping them from falling.

"Pull us up!" shrieked Goombella! Koops pulled as hard as he could. He couldn't pull them up though.

"Come on Koops! You're not weak! Forget what everyone has told you!" shouted Mario in encouragement but his voice was shaking.

Koops mustered up all the energy he could and pulled. Mario finally was pulled up far enough that he could grab the ledge and pull himself up.

"Whew! That was close!" said Koops in relief. Goombella gave Koops a hug.

"You see! You're not weak Koops! I bet Koopie Koo would be sooo proud if she could see you now!" said Goombella.

Koops though about what Goombella had said. The though of his dear Koopie Koo brought tears to his eyes. He remembered his promise that he would come back a stronger. He was on his way. He had just saved Mario and Goombella. There was still hope for him. Koops knew he could do it. He would keep his promise.

The trio headed through the door. Another elevator took them higher still. Here, the path forked into two paths. Mario tried both doors. The right one was locked. The left one wasn't. Mario went through and saw a room full of chests. There was a scampering sound in the corner and a little mouser stepped out of the shadows. She froze when she saw Mario. Mario was startled to run into someone else here. She was all white with a tail that was curved into the shape of a heart and she wore a sparkling red mask that only showed her deep blue eyes. She was standing in front of an open chest.

"Who is there...? Oh, well what do we have here? Who is this handsome man? I thought I was alone, but not anymore..." she said in a deeply seductive voice.

Mario kept his composure but Koops felt butterflies in his stomach.

"H-Hey! Who are you?" he stammered not believing how stupid he sounded.

"Me? Why, I'm Ms. Mowz, the famous thief! Heard of me, darling? Apparently, there is vast amounts of treasure in this castle. That's why I'm here but the question is, why are you handsome lads wondering around here?" she asked.

"No I haven't heard of you." said Mario, knowing it wouldn't be smart to tell anyone, especially a theif, why they were there.

"Umm, well, you see... Were going to kill Hooktail and get the...um... Crystal Star. So don't think you can steal it from us!" Koops said.

Ms. Mowz snickered. She couldn't believe these idiots who had just stumbled into the room she was in. The turtle guy had basically just told her everything they planned to do.

"...Crystal Star? Mmmm hmm hmm!... Sounds intriguing! Perhaps I just heard something you didn't want me hearing? Mmm hmm hmm hmm!" she said, shaking her head.

"Dammit." said Koops under his breath.

Ms. Mowz however was not interested in the crystal thing they were talking about. She had come here to steal some treasure and she had done just that. Her work here was done. Now all she had to do was distract the two guys long enough for her to make her escape.

"Well, I already got what I was looking for so you can have your crystal star my dears." she said, as she walked up to them.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Koops

Ms Mowz gave Mario a kiss on his cheek.

"Mmmm hmmm hmm hmm! It means I must say bye-bye for now, Mr. Cutie. I know. It's sad. We just met, and already it is time to say farewell. Alas..." she said and with that, she jumped onto the window frame. She turned back to the group.

"Well, take care, my love! Let's see each other again real soon!" she said in her sweetest voice.

With that, she jumped out and began the long journey back home.

"That was odd... I wonder what she is all about" wondered Koops out loud.

"Not sure. Let's keep moving." said Mario.

"Men..." muttered Goombella, rolling her eyes.

Mario had no idea what Ms. Mowz had taken or what she was doing here. Mario decided to press on though. Mario opened up the other two chests. One contained a key and the other one was empty. Mario grabbed the key, and led Koops and Goombella through the other locked door.

There was another balcony. It also had pieces missing from it. Unlike the other balcony though, these spaces were to far apart to have a chance of jumping. Mario walked over to one of the windows and looked up. There was another set of windows about 30 feet above them. Mario looked and he saw many stones of all shapes and sizes that were sticking out.

"Hey guys. It looks like well be taking a shortcut." said Mario, climbing out the window.

Koops and Goombella followed. Koops stepped out and looked up. Mario was already climbing up the side of the castle, about 10 feet up. Koops grabbed a stone that was jutting out. Goombella hopped on Koop's shell and held on. Koops and Mario climbed up the side of the castle, the ground probably 200 feet below them.

"My god this is high." muttered Koops.

Mario had almost reached the window. He pulled himself up the last few feet and noticed the window was closed. He reached over and managed to pull a loose rock from the castle walls. He threw it through the window which shattered. Mario pulled himself through and then pulled Koops and Goombella through. They stopped to catch their breath.

"Well what do we have here? For someone who is supposed to be weak... you're not really that weak." said Goombella.

"Thanks. I have always liked climbing. My dad and me used to do it all the time!" said Koops, almost happily.

After a short break, Mario, Koops, and Goombella continued.

This was basically a long hallway. There were a few piles of bones but these ones stayed dead. The next door led to a staircase. They proceeded up the stairs. The group came to a pair of double doors. Mario noticed these doors were icy cold. He opened them and discovered why.

The doors led to a huge stone path. This path must have been a hundred feet long and been at least 400 feet off the ground. Mario looked down and his stomach did a little flip. Koops was shaking. Wind howled all around them and chilled them to the bone. Mario walked forwards. Koops and Goombella followed. Gusts of wind pushed the three from side to side. Together, they all crossed the long path which led to the base of a huge tower. On the top was the perch that they had seen Hooktail fly into earlier. Mario felt the stone path shake and he knew he was hearing Hooktail's breathing. Mario and his partners entered the tower and ascended the stairs. Five minutes later, they reached the top.

Koops felt his heart in his throat. This was it. The moment he had waited for ten years had come. Hooktail was on the other side of the door. Koops was terrified though. He had never done anything like this.

"Koopie Koo, if I don't see you again, remember me for who I really was. A strong koopa who would go to any lengths to avenge his father and save his town." he thought to himself.

Tears ran down his face. The time had come. He was about to face Hooktail, the dragon who had ruined his life and had caused so much pain. Koops wiped away the tears but more came. Goombella looked nervous. She had something to say.

"Mario, remember when we first got to Pedal Meadows and I was about to tell you why I hid behind you?" asked Goombella.

"Yeah. I remember. You were kind of interrupted. Why?" asked Mario.

"Well... It's because as soon as I saw you, you reminded me of my parents and the good times we used to have together. Right from the start, you have made me feel safe and loved. You're the only person who has cared for me at all since my parents were taken away from me." said Goombella, almost in tears.

"I appreciate it. You have been the best partner I could ask for. I know what its like to lose people who are close to you. You have made your parents proud." said Mario.

"In case we don't make it out of this, I just want you to know that I... I..."

"It's okay. Everyone is going to make it out. You can tell me later." said Mario reassuringly.

"Thank you for everything you have done." said Goombella.

She gave Mario a hug and a small kiss on the cheek. She then turned to Koops who had been staring at the door to Hooktail's lair.

"Koops. Everything is going to be okay. Were all in this together, were a family. None of us are going to die." said Goombella.

"Koops. I just want you to know that you have already proven that you are not weak. No matter what happens, you have finished what your father started. You have grown into a great young man who isn't afraid to fight for what he loves." said Mario, patting Koops on the back.

"Th..thanks." said Koops, sniffling.

"Well, are you guys ready?" asked Mario.

"Totally. Time for Hooktail to pay." said Goombella through gritted teeth.

"Ready." Koops said.

He though back to the times when he and his father had lived happy lives. He remembered that fateful day when his father had left and never returned. He remembered his friends being taken away one by one. The tears had stopped. Blind rage replaced them. Koops would see everyone again. He would come back a hero and live a long happy life with Koopie Koo.

The wind howled and whistled by as if reminding Koops how cold and alone he felt after his dad was lost. Was this sight right here, the scenery of Pedal Meadows and his city of Pedalburg off in the distance the last thing his dad saw? Koops sighed. There was nothing left but to walk into Hooktail's lair and fight the dragon that had taken so much.

"Time to end this." said Koops, angrily.

He walked over to the huge doors and pulled them open. Koops walked inside to the huge room. Goombella and Mario followed close behind. It must have been 100 feet tall and wide. Koops looked ahead and he found himself facing Hooktail.

Koops had seen Hooktail many times in his life but nothing could have prepared him for seeing Hooktail face to face. It had the meanest eyes Koops had ever seen and jagged teeth sticking out of its mouth. Hooktail was an angry red color with a yellowish stomach, at least 60 feet tall. Two huge wings sprouted from his back and a curved and jagged tail dragged on the ground behind him. The dragon tilted back his head and roared so loud that the walls shook and dust rained down on them. Hooktail lowered his head and fixed his evil green eyes right into Koop's as if trying to burn through his soul. Every time Hooktail drew a breath, the walls shook. Tongues of flame danced around his nose.

Koops knew he should be scared but he wasn't. The time for fear had passed. Hooktail glared at Koops then glanced up at Mario.

"I see I have visitors. To whom do I owe this honor?" said Hooktail in a booming voice that shook the walls.

"Me, Koops. You took my dad from me 10 years ago and now, I'm here to take back what's mine." said Koops in a fearless voice.

Mario was stunned. He was shaking in his boots but Koops showed no fear. There was a moment of silence. All that could be heard was Hooktail's rumbling breaths. Then Hooktail let out a cackling laugh as if not able to believe what he was seeing. Mario's blood ran cold at Hooktail's chilling laugh.

"Ah, I see. You're the son of Koopley... The GREAT KOOPLEY who though he could kill me." rumbled Hooktail in a mocking voice.

"That's right." growled Koops.

"I think you have just made the biggest... and the last mistake of your life." said Hooktail darkly.

"I'm not afraid of you." said Koops.

Mario detected a slight shudder in his voice. Looking up at the terrifying dragon, Koops seemed to be realizing what he was up against. Hooktail went on.

"Your even smaller then you dad though! He at least had some tasty meat on him." said Hooktail.

"Jesus..." whimpered Goombella, terrified.

"This is for all you have taken away." said Koops as he advanced forward. Mario followed.

"Oh. So unwise." laughed Hooktail.

Koops ran forward at Hooktail who swept him aside with his claw easily. Hooktail then spread his massive wings and took flight. He soared around the room then dived straight at Goombella and Mario. They dived out of the way and Hooktail rocketed past, his tail tearing up a line of stone from the floor and sending it flying in a spray of boulders. Mario hit the ground and covered his head as chunks of stone rained down everywhere, his ears ringing.

Koops looked up to see Hooktail gracfully land and advance on Mario who was on the floor. Mario rolled onto his back to see Hooktail towering over him.

Hooktail lowered his head and opened hit mouth. He leaned forward, preparing to eat Mario. Mario watched the razor sharp teeth get closer and closer. There was nothing he could do. He was going to be...CRACK! Koops slammed into the side of Hooktail's head so hard, Hooktail was taken off balance and knocked completely senseless for a moment. Hooktail's temple was throbbing with pain and the world was spinning.

In seconds, Mario was on his feet. He grabbed his hammer from the ground and brought it in an upward arch that connected with Hooktail's jaw. Hooktail roared in pain as the hammer connected with the side of his mouth, breaking off one of his teeth.

Mario took a moment to catch his breath. He looked up and was horrified to see Hooktail standing up with his eyes burning like hellfire.

"My Turn!"

Hooktail opened his mouth wide and blew a huge jet of fire at Mario and Koops and Goombella! Goombella dived out of the way while Mario and Koops ducked quickly and the fire roared over their heads and out of one of the openings of the perch. Hooktail was expecting this. As Mario and Koops ducked, Hooktail brought around his tail and whacked them both. Mario and Koops were sent flying backwards across the room. Mario hit the wall so hard, he could feel the stone crack! He dropped to his knees and gasped for air. He looked to the left and saw Koops in the same position. Blood trickled down Mario's nose.

"Satisfactory." Mumbled Hooktail as he advanced on them. "I was hoping for more of a challenge from the valiant hero...YEOW!" cried Hooktail as Koops ran forward and hurled himself into Hooktail's exposed stomach.

"Ugh..." winced Hooktail. I hate it when my food doesn't cooperate."

He swiped his claw at Koops who leaped to the side and rolled. He was back on his feet instantly. Hooktail was losing his speed. Mario came out of nowhere and slammed his hammer into Hooktail's lowered jaw. Koops nailed Hooktail with his shell in the cheek. Hooktail roared in pain and staggered back. Mario and Koops followed, hitting him again and again.

Hooktail was in agony and gasping for breath. He was on the ground with three strangers beating him to death. At that moment, the one dressed in red slammed his hammer into his leg and the koopa punched him in the side of his head again. Hooktail felt one of his toes snap and his face was on fire. He could feel himself dying. His eyes were growing heavy. He needed to eat something to get back some strength. He decided to fly to Pedalburg for a quick meal. Hooktail spread his huge wings and began to fly towards an opening in the perch.

Mario watched Hooktail begin to fly away. His hope faded as he realized Hooktail could get away after all this. Mario and Goombella then witnessed something remarkable. Koops had risen to his feet. Mario could see the anger in his eyes at Hooktail's retreat. Hooktail neared the edge of the perch and began to fly away. As Mario watched, Koops sprinted forwards and launched himself off the perch into open air after Hooktail. He fell for a few seconds and then landed on Hooktail's back. He dug his claws into Hooktail's hide and held on.

Hooktail felt Koops land on his back. There was not much he could do. He tried to shake him anyway. Hooktail accelerated and rolled upside down. Koops suddenly found himself looking straight down at the ground a good 1000 feet below. They were over the river that separated Hooktail's castle from Pedal Meadows. Koops felt his arms burning and his claws began to slip. A few seconds later, it slipped out and Koops was hanging over certain death by one claw. Hooktail eventually gave up and rolled back over. Koops regained his grip and waited for his heart to start beating again.

Hooktail and Koops soared towards Pedalburg. It finally came into view and Koops wondered what Hooktail was up to. Hooktail suddenly dived towards the ground. Koops could see the ground getting closer and closer. What the hell was going on? Koops carefully pulled himself up to Hooktail's neck where he could see what Hooktail saw. Koops then froze in horror. He saw three Koopas running in terror away from Hooktail who was rapidly approaching them. They were running for the village but Koops knew there was no way they were going to make it.

"Hit the ground!" he yelled at them.

His voice was lost in the wind and none of the three Koopas heard him. Koops watched in horror as Hooktail reached them. Hooktail opened his mouth wide and grabbed two. He swiped his tail and the third koopa was send flying to the left where he disappeared over the ledge and began the long fall to his death. The other two koopas struggled to get free. Their struggles ended all too soon when Hooktail bit down. Koopas actually heard the sickening crunch of their shells and felt the two koopas slide down Hooktail's throat. Koops fought the urge to throw up.

Seeing two of his fellow Koopas devoured by Hooktail ignited a whole new rage.

"You fucking monster! screamed Koops.

He began pounding Hooktail on the back of his head and tearing at the dragon's neck with his claws! Hooktail roared in pain and sped up to try to shake Koops again. He was ready this time. Koops dug in with one hand and used the other to keep beating Hooktail.

Hooktail felt much better after his little meal but he was hurting from this Koopa on his neck beating the back of his head. Hooktail began to feel nauseous from the blows so he turned and began the short flight back to his castle.

Koopie Koo was strolling along by here house worrying about Koops. She heard Hooktail's roar and looked up to see him chasing after three of her neighbors. She watched as their lives suddenly ended and was scared and enraged at the same time. Suddenly Hooktail began jerking around for no apparent reason. He the turned and to her amazement and horror, Koops was hanging onto his neck, holding onto Hooktail with one hand and beating him with the other. He was screaming at the top of his lungs and the sight terrified Koopie Koo. Hooktail turned and was soon a speck in the horizon. Koopie Koo watched her beloved Koops fade from sight and then fell to the ground in a dead faint.

Mario stood on the edge of the enormous perch and watched Hooktail draw approach. Koops was still hanging on and was beating the life out of Hooktail. He stood there, ready to hit Hooktail as soon as he reached the perch.

Hooktail saw Mario also. Hooktail sped up and flew straight at Mario. At the last second, Hooktail pulled up and slammed his tail into Mario. He was tossed straight up and landed on the edge of the roof of the perch. He grabbed the stone and struggled to pull himself up. Mario took a quick look down and saw nothing but the ground, now about 600 feet below him. Hooktail and Koops circled around the perch, continuing their midair fight. Mario glanced at Koops who was locked in the fight with Hooktail. The kid had more then proved himself. He was as brave as anyone Mario had ever met. With a burst of strength, Mario pulled himself up.

Mario stood up, his strength and fighting spirit back. He looked up to see Koops punch Hooktail in the temple. Hooktail's eyes closed in agony and he literally fell out of the sky. He crashed into the top of the perch about 30 feet to Mario's left, smashing the rocks, and he and Koops began sliding towards the edge. Hooktail regained sense and desperately tried to stop this deadly slide. He clawed the rocks which gave way. Hooktail slid to the edge, a shower of rocks sliding past him and off the edge. He managed to stop himself right before he fell. His backside was hanging over the abyss. Mario ran over and whacked Hooktail's left claw.

Hooktail felt his claw snap and he was forced to let go. His right claw was all that kept him from falling. A tear came to Hooktail's eye as he realized that his time on this world was just about up. For the millionth time, Hooktail though about how terrible he seemed in the eyes of the Pedalburg villagers. He didn't enjoy terrorizing Pedalburg but he had to in order to survive. Everyone lived in fear of him and he lived alone. He had been wanting to move on for years because there was still so much he wanted to do with his life. Hooktail felt himself slipping and he knew this was it. Hooktail sighed wearily and looked up, ready to meet his maker.

Koops climbed over Hooktail's head and stood on the bridge of his nose. Koops looked into Hooktail's eyes and saw the fight fading out of them. It was as if Hooktail knew he was done for and was ready to die. Koops saw the light fading from his eyes. This was the moment he had been waiting for since his dad had left him. He walked right up to Hooktail's eyes and stared into them.

"This is for my father." said Koops.

Koops went into his shell and launched forward. He slammed into Hooktail, right in between the eyes. Koops felt bones snap as his shell connected. He had broken Hooktail's skull.

Hooktail felt white pain come over him. Blood streamed from his forehead and began to soak into his eyes and stream down his face. This was it. He felt his grip going. He looked around at the place he once ruled, the place that he had wanted to leave for so long to start a new life.

Hooktail let out one final magnificent roar that echoed across the land, shaking the trees and rumbling the ground. Then silence fell over Pedal Meadows. Hooktail looked at the koopa that had ended his life, staring into his eyes. He did look a lot like his father. He gave the koopa a sad smile. It was all over. Hooktail felt his eyes shutting and blackness was closing in. He drew his last breath and slipped off the edge

Koops and Hooktail tumbled from the perch. Koops desperately held on as they plummeted towards the ground. Wind was whipping past and the scenery was reduced to a blur. They fell faster and faster. Koops saw the ground coming up fast and braced himself.

Hooktail slammed into the ground first with a thundering boom. This shook the ground and threw up a huge cloud of dust. Koops came next and crashed into Hooktail and everything faded to black.

Mario stood at the edge of the perch and looked down. His heart was beating so fast, he thought it would burst out of his chest. He had just witnessed Hooktail and his partner tumble over the edge and fall. He saw the lifeless body of Hooktail, covered in dust, sprawled over the ground. He saw Koops lying next to the great dragon, not moving. Mario felt cold panic come over him. He quickly climbed down from the perch. He grabbed Goombella who had been watching the whole thing, still inside the perch. She was sobbing hysterically at the sight of Koops and Hooktail presumably falling to their deaths.

"Come on! We have to help him!" yelled Mario.

Mario and Goombella quickly went down through the castle.

Mario reached the castle entrance and sprinted across the drawbridge. The two of them rushed to their fallen friend.

"KOOPS!" screamed Goombella, grief stricken.

Mario reached Koops first. He fell to his knees and pulled the lifeless body to his own, checking for any signs of life. Goombella was silently crying next to him. Mario let out a huge sigh of relief as Koops took a breath.

"Thank god. Are you okay? Can you move?" asked Mario, concerned.

Koops sat up slowly and saw realized Mario was holding him.

"I'm okay." he told Mario.

He let go and stood up. Goombella was jumping for joy. Koops stood up and looked over at Hooktail's body. He was dead. His reign of terror was finally over. Koops knew he had won a great victory and should be ecstatic but overwhelming sadness flowed over him. Right before Hooktail had died, Koops had looked into his eyes and seen the sadness and misery. He though that when he killed Hooktail, he would be complete and happy again but that was hardly the case. Koops sank to his knees and took a long look at the magnificent dragon that had taken so much from him, sprawled lifelessly on the ground next to him and began to cry.

At the pipe which led to the entrance to Hooktail's castle, a cheer went up. The citizens of Pedalburg had seen Koops on Hooktail's back as he approached. After Hooktail left, the citizens of the town flocked to the viewing point of Hooktail's castle to see who would come out victorious. As they watched Hooktail finally tumble from his perch, a loud victory cry went up. It was short lived though as the townsfolk then returned to the town to mourn the three citizens they had lost. Before leaving for good, Hooktail had taken one last piece of the town with him.

Koops finally stood up after a few minutes of weeping. He, Mario, and Goombella finally got set to leave. They still had to find the crystal star. As they were about to leave, Hooktail suddenly twitched. Koops soon realized that Hooktail was not moving, something inside the body was moving. It moved up the throat and fell out of the mouth. It was a koopa, drenched from head to toe with goop. He fell to the ground and didn't move. He had a faded blue shell, a thick goatee, and a full head of hair.

**"**He..help." cried the koopa as he struggled to move.

"UGH! Gross!" said Goombella. Everyone was shocked at the reaction from Koops

"It...It can't be!" stammered Koops. "Da...Dad?"

He ran over to the Koopley who managed to roll over onto his back. Mario saw that Koopley's stomach was ripped open and he was bleeding profusely. Mario guessed that it had happened when Hooktail had fallen, Koopley inside him.

"You look familiar... You're... You're Koops. Hey, Son. You've gotten so big since I saw you last. It's been a long time" said Koopley weakly, his face pale from the blood loss.

Koops ran to his dad and gave and knelt next to him.

"What happened? You have been missing for ten years! Are you okay?" asked Koops, slowly becoming aware that his dad was hurt badly.

"Well, after I left you that morning, I came here to fight Hooktail... He had caused too many problems. He was too strong and he ate me. I've been hiding in my shell for the ten years since then... Inside Hooktail's stomach. Oh man... My stomach... It got torn open on something during your fight..." moaned Koopley, shaking.

Mario doubted that someone would be able to survive in anyone's stomach for ten years but Koopley had done it. Mario then took a look at his stomach. It looked bad.

"Hey... Koopley, I'm Mario... A friend of your son... I think we need to get you some help, that's pretty bad." said Mario concerned.

"I think he is right dad. You need help!" exclaimed Koops.

"It's okay. Ill be fine..." said Koopley, weakly.

Mario was worried... Koopley was gravely injured but refused help.

"I'm sorry that I left you Koops. We're together now, right?" asked Koopley.

"Yeah dad. Can you move? Its time to go home." said Koops happily.

"It's alright. You go. I'm afraid... I'm afraid my time is up." said Koopley, his voice just a whisper.

"What? Wait..." said Koops, realizing what his dad meant. He looked at the pool of blood that had formed around him. Koops realized that the injury could indeed mean the end of his dad.

"Don't worry. If we move now, you can make it." said Mario, trying to be reassuring. He took a good look at Koopley's stomach and his hope faded though. Koops ran over to his dad again.

"Dad. You're not going to die! You have come so far! You have survived so long! Were together again! Please... Please don't leave me now." cried Koops desperately, cold panic coming over him.

"I'm so sorry Koops. For all of the pain I have put you through... for all you have suffered because of me. I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry." said Koopley, tears in his eyes.

"Dad... you're going to make it... You can't die here." sobbed Koops.

"Hey Koops... remember the morning that I left you... ten years ago?" asked Koopley.

"Of course I remember dad. There is not a day I don't remember." said Koops, wiping the tears that were flowing down his face.

"When I left... you were just kid still... But looking at you now... you have grown into a fine young man indeed... I am so happy for you..." said Koopley, coughed and blood splashed out of his mouth.

"D...I don't want you to die...don't leave me" said Koops, whispering.

"I...I don't want to die either son. I don't want to die but sometimes, you have no choice. Everything happens for a reason." said Koopley sadly.

"There's... still time! You can make it! I... I don't want you to go!" cried Koops.

"I'll never leave you Koops... I always be with you... watching over you..seeing you live your life and grow old... Ill, always be there for you... Whenever you need help...just ask me for help..." whispered Koopley.

Koops put his hand on his dad's chest. He could barley feel a heartbeat. He knew his dad was about to leave him for good... and there was nothing he could do. Absolutely nothing. Shaking, Koops looked over at his dad. His eyes were beginning to shut and his face was deathly pale. It was almost over.

"Dad... I'm so sorry I didn't go with you that morning when you asked... I am so sorry for everything. I love you so much. You will always be with me in my heart." said Koops, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'll.. I'll see you again... someday... I'll see you again... well be together... just like old times..." whispered Koopley.

"I know dad. I'll see you again. I know I will." sobbed Koops.

"I wan't you.. to Li... Live a long and happy life Koops. Don't.. Don't worry about me. I'm home now... I'm home..." said Koopley.

"I love you dad." whispered Koops.

"I... I... I.. love..you too... son... thank... you for being... such a wonderful... son..." said Koopley.

Koops leaned over and kissed his Dad on the forehead.

"Dad..." whispered Koops.

"Its... its been a long road son... my time... my time has ended... you... have so much living to do... enjoy life...its too short to spend grieving... good bye... Koops... I love you." whispered Koopley.

With his last breath, Koopley sat up just enough to give Koops a last hug. Then he sank back down. He was gone. He had died hugging his son.

"Good bye dad..." said Koops, overcome with grief.

"Koops... I am so sorry..." said Mario, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

Koops stood up and hugged Mario and Goombella.

"He died peacefully with his son. That's all that matters." said Koops, sobbing.

He fell to his knees but the tears didn't come. He had finished what his father had started. He had saved his town. And his father was in a better place now. Koops knew though that he had his whole life ahead of him. He had many years to go and he would get to look forward to seeing his dad again, eventually. He gave his dad a last hug, then turned away, turned away to a new beginning... turned towards the start of his life without anymore suffering and grief. He looked up, knowing his dad was looking down. Koops smiled and waved. His dad waved back. He would always be with Koops.

Mario couldn't bear to look at Koopley in his state any longer. He turned and noticed that something else had fallen out of Hooktail's mouth. It was shiny.

"The crystal star." whispered Goombella, wiping her eyes.

Mario walked over and picked it up quickly. He then went back over to Koops.

"Hey Koops. How are you doing." asked Mario.

"Pretty good Mario. I was just talking with my dad for a minute." answered Koops, still looking at the sky.

Goombella looked a bit confused but Mario understood perfectly.

Together, the three of them marched back to Pedalburg and were greeted with cheers and applause. Everyone rushed forward and embraced Koops. There was a funeral service that night for the citizens lost in Hooktail's last attack and of course, Koopley, one of the best citizens the town had ever seen and a great father. This was then followed by the first celebration in 10 years.

There was a huge bonfire and enough food to feed ten villages. The legendary Pedalburg festivals were back. Mario took a break from the festivities and sat under a tree, watching Koops, happy as ever, despite loosing his dad for a second time. Goombella was dancing around the bonfire with the other Koopas.

"It's been quite a day hasn't it?" asked Goombario, who was sitting next to Mario.

"Yes it has Goombario... Yes it has."

With that, Mario got up and enjoyed the rest of the celebration. Goombario even joined the party for a few minutes before he turned and walked back into the darkness. Everyone was happy.

As Petalburg's chapter wraps up, the koopas were once again happy and safe in their town. Gradually, the town would return to how it had once been, the koopas living happy and peaceful lives, without a worry or care. The people of the town rejoiced.

Koops had learned that he shouldn't spend all of his time grieving. Life was way to short to spend being sad the whole time. Koopley had taught that to his son in the last few moments they were together. These few minutes changed Koop's life and Koops would remember them to the the end of his days. Before leaving for good, Hooktail, the dragon that had taken away so much from everyone had given something back.

End Of Chapter 

**Well readers, the first part of our adventure has come to a close. If you have enjoyed the story so far, please leave a review. I would love to hear what you think.**


	5. Peach Interlude: Here We Go Again

Peach Interlude: Here We Go Again

In a mysterious fort thousands of miles away, Princess Peach was being led into the main hall. She was terribly confused. She never really realized how she got here. In fact, she had no idea where she even was! The last thing she remembered was mailing the map to Mario. She had just woken up and found herself being led through shiny, hi tech looking corridors full of lights, beeping, and color. There was a coldness to the area that wasn't due to the temperature. The actual corridors were very tight with elevators occasionally arriving from lower levels and depositing strange creatures. In fact, peach was being led through these very halls by strange creatures. They were about half her height with white shoes, collars, and hoods with red middle section and a brown X stitched over their chests. They also had strange looking round glasses covering their eyes. All of this completely hid their faces from view. Peach considered trying to run but quickly decided against it. First, there were tons of these creatures everywhere! There were about ten in her plain view. There were the red ones leading her, some blue ones walking around carrying test tubes and beakers, and a few more frightening black and red colored ones playfully wrestling around. Second, Peach had no idea where she was. Even if she managed to escape then what? She would have no idea where to go.

These creatures led her into a huge room. It was a circular room with strange torches with purple flames in the corners of the room. There was a platform in the middle of the room with tons of computers and sensors on it. The creatures led her forward then stopped. They both crossed their hands over their chests in a silent salute. Peach looked up to see who this was addressed to. She saw two creatures in front of her, even more terrifying then all the others if that was possible. Standing to her left was a creature that looked like the smaller ones leading Peach but was at least twice the size. He wore purple, red, and black with a white X across his chest. In front of her, standing on the center platform was a creature, even bigger then the one she was just looking at. Its had on a huge glass orb hat with sparks dancing around the glass orb. He had on a purple, gold, and black suit on which was open in the middle to reveal an X.

Peach shook at the sight of this monster. She wasn't to shaken though to notice a pattern: the letter X. All of these creatures seemed to have X's on them. She found out soon enough why. The creature on her left addressed the leader.

"O great, and powerful Grodus! The mission was a success and wen't off without a hitch. Here is the Princess Peach you requested!" it squeaked.

So, the name of the terrifying monster in front of her was Grodus. He seemed to be the leader of the creatures that had captured her. He listened to what his assistant had said then slowely turned away from the computers in front of him.

"Welcome... welcome Peach. I am a man that believes that time is very valuable so why don't you just tell us where the map is right now and not make us wait." hissed Grodus evilly.

Peach trembled. She didn't have the map anymore, she had sent it to Mario. In fact, sending the map was the last thing she remembered doing. She was to terrified to say anything anyway.

"Answer me when I talk to you." said Grodus, his annoyance growing.

"I can't remember! I'm sorry." squeaked Peach, terrified.

She assumed that Mario probably had it but telling Grodus that would land him in huge trouble.

"I would appreciate it if you were honest with us. I have ordered all my X-Nauts to not harm you but I might have to change that if you don't cooperate. So lets try this again. Where is that map?" growled Grodus.

Peach quivered a bit more. She also realized that these goons that had captured her were called the X- Nauts. And Grodus was the leader of the X-Nauts. Before Peach could say anything, a huge television hanging on the wall to Peach's right suddenly flashed on. An X-Naut appeared on the screen, his image hugely magnified.

"Grodus, sir! Urgent news." said the X-Naut on the screen, his voice echoing around the room.

"Report X- Naut!" snapped Grodus.

"Well... That crystal star... The one that we though Hooktail had... someone killed Hooktail and took it." said the X-Naut in a weak sounding voice.

He sounded almost frightened to hear Grodus's reaction.

"WHAT? Someone else is after the Crystal Stars? And they managed to kill that dragon? REPORT!" yelled Grodus.

"Uh... Yeah... according to our detectives in the area...it was a mustached dude in a red hat and blue overalls who got the star." squeaked the X-Naut.

Princess Peach felt like she had been hit with a truck!

"MARIO!" she yelled before she could stop herself.

She immediately realized her mistake and clamped her hand over her mouth. The damage was done though.

"Excuse me? Mario?" asked Grodus.

"Dammit!" whimpered Peach.

"I see... So you know something about the man that is after the Crystal Stars huh? Well, I will know everything about him soon enough. GUARDS! Take Peach to her room." said Grodus.

"Yessir!" snapped the X-Naut to Peach's right.

They turned and began to lead her away but Grodus surprised Peach.

"Men! Wait! Remember... be easy on Peach. She is not to be handled rough or harmed." said Grodus.

He had mentioned that he had ordered the X-Nauts to be easy with her earlier but she didn't believe that at the time. It seemed that it was true. With that, they led a very surprised and confused Peach away.

Meanwhile, a camera followed their ever move. This entire episode had been monitored. It had been monitored by TEC-XX, the intellegent supercomputer Grodus had built to run his fort. Its primary purpose was to run the fort and moniter everything that went on and even research the problems Grodus had. However, today, Grodus had ordered this women in a pink dress brought in. TEC-XX locked on to this women and the screen had gone fuzzy. Something malfunctioned and his central system locked up for a few seconds. TEC-XX had never experienced anything like this before. An unknown error had caused a complete system halt. TEC-XX didn't know how to handle the problem except to study her further to determine the source of the maulfunction. It figured Grodus wouldn't approve though so TEC-XX would wait until Grodus went to bed and then call her in to monitor her.

Back in the main hall, Grodus was pondering what he had been told. Who was this Mario? Why was he going after the Crystal Stars? Did he know anything about his plan? Ugh! What a mess! Grodus turned to Lord Crump who had been watching silently the whole time.

"Well, Lord Crump..." said Grodus.

He stopped as he realized he was at a loss for words.

"If Mario has that map..." Grodus trailed off again. "...then... there is a good chance that he will find the Crystal Star we are searching for in Boggly Woods. You must go back there now and finish the evacuation!" concluded Grodus.

Crump's mind seemed to be elsewhere though.

"Huh? What? Oh yes! I'm on it!" barked Crump as he ran out the door.

Grodus shook his head at the overconfidence of Crump. His behavior would cost him some day. Grodus shook it off though. Time to check up on his mysterious characters in the Boggly Woods area.

"Johnson! Get over here NOW!" he barked.

His personal assistant was supposed to come but he was in medical at the moment so his second in command, Paul stumbled in. Grodus groaned. This guy was a bit child like in the head.

"Grodus my MAN! Whats up? I mean.. what going on dude... wait... Lord Grodus... You called dude... dude?" stammered the Paul, trying desperately to sound somewhat formal.

Grodus shook his head.

"Get the Shadow Sirens over here right NOW!" ordered Grodus.

He could see the Paul's eyes go wide.

"The Sh-Shadow Sirens, sir? But they... they are..." squeaked the X-Naut before he trailed off.

"Get them NOW! Finish your sentence later." snapped Grodus.

"Gotcha Dude!" said Paul.

He realized his mistake and ran out. Grodus shook his head again. He had called the Shadow Sirens in. They were three witches who Grodus had recently hired to help him on his search for the Crystal Stars. Suddenly, a cold, creaky voice echoed across the room.

"So Grodus needs us? We will arrive shortly." said the voice.

Grodus shivered. He was creped out by this trio. Three shadows appeared on the floor and the three witches rose from them. The trio consisted of three sisters. Beldam, the leader and oldest was tiny and wore an enormous blue and white striped witches hat. Marilyn, the middle sister was huge and a real powerhouse who couldn't speak english so well either. She had bright red cheeks and messy yellow hair that covered her face. She wore a yellow and white striped witches hat. Last was the youngest sister, Vivian. She wore a red and white striped hat and had long and neat pink hair that covered her face. They all were a shade of purple and wore white gloves. They weren't exactly human either, they were spirits. None of them had legs, they all floated on long tails.

"Hello Grodus... So, did the Princess tell you where the map is?" creaked Beldam.

"Shut it Beldam! All you had to do before was snatch the map from Peach in Rogueport. You screwed up and now some poor bastard named Mario has the map!" snapped Grodus angrily.

"I would have done it! I couldn't because there were to many people watching! Besides, a strange old man showed up when I was about to grab her so I had to back off. I couldn't get her until about an hour later when the old man had left. She must have sent the map away then. Why are you worried though? All we need to do is get the map back, right?" asked Beldam, her short temper showing.

"YES IT IS! That map is vital... VITAL... to our plan! I will have my men prepare all available information on this Mario. You three have to take care of Mario and get the map back!" yelled Grodus.

Beldam was getting angry. This goon ordering her and her stupid sisters around all the time! Where did he get off?

"Alright, sir. I, Beldam, shall retrieve with what you seek." snapped Beldam and hastily departed. Marilyn followed. Vivian hesitated.

She was the youngest of the three sisters and she also took the most abuse. Beldam was always abusing Vivian for things she forgot! It wasn't fair. She hated Beldam! Some day, she wanted to stand up for herself but it was her sister. She sighed, looked at the gash on her arm from her beating last week, and departed.

Meanwhile TECH-XX took his hourly scan of the fort. He looked at the control room, the room where the spare keys were kept, and the labs. He paused on Peach in her room and the strange tingling malfunction occurred again. What was this? He was a perfect computer! What was wrong with him? Why did he keep malfunctioning? He needed to get to the bottom of this now!

In her room Peach paced around. The door in front of her was locked and the door behind her only contained a shower. The place was surprisingly clean and comforting though. Peach was well cared for here. Peach had no idea why but this fact was lost on her in her panic.

"I can't believe this is happening... I am kidnapped again! Mario and Toadsworth must be freaking out." she said to herself miserably.

"But where am I? I have no idea where I am so how can I let Mario know where to find me... or how can I even let him know?" she said then faded off.

Suddenly the door in front of her that had been locked a second ago, slid open. Peach gasped and searched the room for a hiding place. No one came through though. What had opened the door? Peach slowely crept forward and peered through it. It opened to a long hallway. Peach walked down it and it eventually led to another locked door. Peach was confused. Why had this happened if the next door would just be locked? She turned to leave but the door then slid open. What? Peach moved forward into the next room.

This room was dark but lit up as Peach entered. Lights flashed, gadgets beeped. This room was full of electronics. No not full of, the entire room was completely covered in electronics. A huge screen was in the center of the room with a camera over it. The camera swung over to where Peach was standing and a automated voice spoke.

"Hello Princess Peach." said the voice, utterely emotionless.

"Wait... Who said that? Who's there?" gasped Peach as she spun around, looking for the source of the voice.

Unknown to Peach, the source was TEC-XX's speakers in the ceiling. While Peach was being led to her room, he had done some research of his own and found out some information about Peach. It was time to find out more about her and the strange malfunction.

"I am right here, in front of you. I am watching you through the camera over the main screen. I am this laboratory's computer. I run the whole station. I am the TEC-XX. Many call me TEC. You may. Sir Grodus created me and made me a perfect computer, one that is indisputable in its reason." said TEC quickly as he watched Peach through the camera above the screen.

"Grodus... He's that son of a bitch that kidnapped me!" spat Peach.

"Sir Grodus is not terrible. He is a very great person. He is marvelous." said TEC in an pre determined message that Grodus had programmed into TEC to be played at the slightest concern that someone was plotting against him.

Grodus was very paranoid. TEC had grown suspicious of Grodus. One of the big flaws that had crept by Grodus as he had built TEC was giving him the ability to freely think. Sure, Grodus had programmed some pre determined responses and thoughts here and there but all in all, TEC was a free thinking computer. This allowed him to work by himself and possibly find out facts that were not meant to be known. The biggest thing that TEC could do though was evolve as the times changed, just like a human.

"Well, clearly nothing I say can change your mind. Why did you call me in here? Asked Peach.

TEC decided to start from the beginning.

"I don't know. When I observed you earlier... when you were led into the main chamber... a unheard of malfunction occured. My higher-brain circuity malfunctioned and nearly overheated and my main disks short circuited at your image. It caused a complete and catostrophic freeze. Those events are new to me." stated TEC.

"English please!" muttered Peach.

"Something else happened as well. I ran diagnostic programs...this has never happened to me before but the results concluded... that I want to know more about you. I want to observe you. Such a compulsion has no precedence. Cause unknown. This was not a programmed response. I need to know what caused the problem and eliminate it. I will not fail. That is why I led you here." stated TEC.

To TEC, this was just a simple statement, devoid of feeling or emotion. Peach however seemed very alarmed and confused.

"Wait...What the...? You want to observe me... but why?" squeaked Peach.

She thought about it for a moment and a thought occurred to her. She couldn't believe it and she hoped to god she was wrong.

"Maybe you... No way! It can't be. You're a computer." barked Peach.

There was no way!

"I don't know what has happened to me! If you know anything... you must tell me about it right away." replied TEC with no emotion even though Peach knew he would be begging if he was human.

"Well...Um...I think..." Peach faded.

It was too weird! This couldn't be happening! There was no way that TEC could... He was a computer!

"Please... I need you to tell me. I am supposed to be a perfect computer... There should not be anything that I do not understand. Please... You need to help me" begged TEC.

TEC was shocked. He had just used the word "please" twice. He couldn't determine why. Peach was horrified. She decided to just say it. Peach drew a deep breath and threw it out there.

"Well... maybe...perhaps... Is it possible that, well...you're... in love..._with me_?" whimpered Peach.

"What is..."love"? My search finds no definition of this." said TEC, emotionless. Grodus had never programmed anything like this.

"Oh boy... I really don't know how to explain this... Love... love tells you when you belong with a person... forever. It makes you feel happy just to see that person happy, enjoying life... When you love someone, you will do anything to help them and will do anything in the world for them." said Peach, struggling to explain to this... computer, what love was.

It was actually quite hard, like describing a taste.

"Happiness? Fun...? I have brief definitions for these words but... my programming fails to support these. I still can not comprehend this love." stated TEC.

"Comprehend" love? You just don't comprehend love! You feel it." said Peach.

TEC for the first time since he was created was at a loss for words. He had no idea what love was. He also did another thing for the first time. He hesitated before asking a question, another thing that he had never done.

"Princess Peach... will you... will you teach me how to fell love? Asked TEC.

Peach felt like she was going to throw up. This was too much!

"What? You're a computer! Your not human! Why the hell would you care about love?" yelled Peach.

"I am simply a perfect computer! There should be nothing that I can't comprehend. Nothing. That is why you must help me understand this thing called "love"... I need to know... Please. If you have any wishes that I can grant you in exchange, I will grant them... within reason" said TEC.

He needed to know. He was perfect. Peach was less sympathetic.

"What, are you insane? You X-Nauts kidnapped me! And now you want me to teach you about love? You'll grant my wishes? What are you, a fucking genie? You don't even have a magic lamp!" yelled Peach, her voice dripping poison.

"Anger... That I emotion I comprehend. You don't have to teach me now. But I must learn of this thing. I must. There is no alternative. I must be a perfect computer. That is why, if you would just consider helping me out, I will grant your wishes. Do you understand me, Princess Peach? Now, tell me your wish." said TEC.

He was not allowed to do this but sometimes, the ends justify the means. Peach was getting tired of this. She was confused and shaken up. She decided to ask TEC to send a message to Mario.

"Alright... I'll try to help you. I probably won't be leaving soon as long as that Grodus is around. Can I just send a message?" asked Peach.

"Yes, of course you may. Use my communicator to send your message. If you so wish, you can use it right now. Use the keyboard in front of you. Enter the recipient, address, and message." said TEC.

Peach walked over to the keyboard under the screen. She quickly typed her message to Mario, trying to explain her situation in a nutshell.

"Alright... send it." said Peach.

There were a few beeps.

"The message has been sent. Please return to your room now. I will call you back in tomarrow." stated TEC.

Peach turned and walked to the door.

"Uh... OK then. Good night...TEC" she said.

Peach turned and left. She still didn't know where she was or what to do next. She didn't know anything. She walked back to her room and went to bed. Nothing made sense anymore.

"Goodnight... Princess Peach." said TEC to the empty room. Then he powered down.


	6. Bowser Interlude:I dont care about Mario

**Bowser Interlude: I Don't Care About Mario**

In the world that Mario lived in, there were two edges. These edges marked the end of the earth. If you stepped a step farther, you would fall off and never stop falling. The north edge was icy. The Crystal Palace, the lost palace of the star spirits, a few feet from the edge of the earth stood here. On the south end of the earth, there was fire, a vast ocean of fire. Mountains marked the borders of this area. Past the mountains was... nothing but a drop off. There is a reason the south edge of the earth sticks out though. In this vast lava pool, there is a huge castle. A crumbling stone path leads to it from the high cliffs. This is where Bowser lives. He had rebuilt his castle and settled down to rule his minions quietly, and away from everyone in solitude.

On this gloomy day, Bowser stumbled out of his room, half asleep, his bright orange hair stuck to one of the spikes on his shell. One of his guards had awakened him and informed him that Kammy Koopa, his assistant, had urgent news. Bowser dragged himself out of bed and walked down the hall. The doors in front of him were pulled open by two more of his spiked koopa guards and he entered his private hall. This hall had many stone figures of Bowser against the walls and blue torches hung above the doors. The windows opened up to a spectacular view of the lava flow. A few of his guards and some hammer brothers were wondering aimlessly about and chatting.

"Well... I'm here! Cheer or something!" yelled Bowser. No one even looked up.

Bowser sighed. His rein seemed to be growing weaker and weaker by the day. He suddenly remembered the Kammy was supposed to meet him.

"Uh. KAMMY! Why the hell did you wake me up! What did you want?" yelled Bowser to no one in particular.

"Uh... Bowser... Kammy is on her way. Please calm down!" stammered a guard, standing next to the door.

Boswer wondered towards the back of the room. He decided to talk to the hammer brothers for a few minutes. When he reached them however, they seemed to be running their mouths about personal matters.

"Alright... The other day, I was wondering past Bowser's room, and I heard him talking about Peach in his sleep!" stated the Hammer Brother with his back to Bowser who was standing right behind him.

The other one however noticed him.

"Uh. Dude! Shut up... NOW!" he encouraged.

"No way man! It was hilarious! He kept saying how much he missed her and they should get married and stuff!" continued the first Hammer Brother, oblivious to Bowser until his brother turned him around.

"Holy Shit! L- lord Bowser!" he screamed.

Bowser was furious.

"Well, are you going to finish your story? Lets hear it!" he roared.

The koopa stood there shaking and didn't tell. Bowser stormed angrily on.

Kammy finally entered the hall. She was about 80 years old. She was much shorter then other koopas and had Grey hair with a purple dress and witches hat. She had her trusty magic morocco, which was enchanted by a witch in Guatemala. She dragged herself to the back of the hall where Bowser waited, panting from the walk.

"I'm... I'm here. Sorry it took so long!" said Kammy in a creaky old voice.

"Whatever you old hag. Now... why the hell did you send people to wake me up? Asked Bowser.

This women was getting to old for this job, thought Bowser to himself.

"Ahem... It's my displeasure to report that Mario, that miserable old man, is off to a town called Rogueport." snapped Kammy.

Jesus! Not Mario again. Bowser was so sick of Mario. All he ever did was get beat up by Mario. All Bowser wanted to do was to be left along and not ever have to deal with Mario again. He turned to Kammy.

"Really! OH MY GOD! MARIO IS GOING TO ROGUEPORT! I really don't care. I'm going back to bed." yelled Bowser angrily.

He turned and began walking towards his bedroom to get more sleep. Kammy yelled something after him that made him stop.

"Yeah...Well, the reason I woke you up is because he is apparently hunting for a legendary treasure."

"Treasure?" stuttered Bowser.

That was one thing Bowser never wanted to stop. Getting more treasure and riches. His greed was beyond his control.

"You bet my lord. Mario is looking for things called Crystal Stars. I don't know much about them but judging from their name, they must be very valuable." said Kammy.

Crystal Stars? Yeah, they sounded nice.

"Crystal stars you say? Sounds pretty good to me Kammy! Look into it for me." he ordered Kammy, still not terribly interested.

Still, there was nothing like more treasure to make him richer so he could one day rule the world with his great wealth. Maybe.

A Magnikoopa hastily walked up to Kammy. Bowser leaned in and tried to listen but he couldn't hear their conversation.

"WHAT! Are you sure about THAT!" screamed Kammy.

Bowser almost fell over at he outburst. She turned to him.

"Lord Bowser! Terrible news! Peach has been abducted!" yelled Kammy.

"WWWHHHAAATTT? What kind of sick, miserable, horrible person would do that?" yelled Bowser.

That was one thing no one else had the right to do! Kidnapping the Princess was Bowser's job!

"We don't know who did it right now. We are looking into it." said Kammy angrily.

Bowser exploded!

"NO! HELL NO! Nobody... NOBODY is allowed to kidnap Peach. I have to go to Rogueport and kidnap her back NOW!" yelled Bowser.

With that, he ran out of the room to his private garage and hopped into his Koopa Kopter. This was his device he used to fly to locations. It looked like a teacup with a propeller underneath it. It also had a nasty face painted on it that no one in the castle except Bowser seemed to like. It was reliable though. It had only failed five or six time since Bowser had built it twenty years ago.

"LETS GO!" he yelled at Kammy who was struggling to get on her broom.

Bowser steered the kopter forward and out of the garage. Soono, he was flying over the ocean of fire.

"But... Your Grunginess! WAIT!" she yelled after him. Bowser was already gone. With a sigh, Kammy flew out the window and after Bowser. She was definitely getting to old for this job.


	7. Post Chapter 1: A New Problem

Post Chapter 1: A New Problem

Mario, Koops, and Goombella had just left Pedalburg, ready to continue their adventure. The next step was to take the crystal star to the Thousand Year Door to see where they had to go next.

Koops had returned to Koopie Koo. He and her had hugged and kissed for literally an hour or two after Koops had ran back to her waiting arms. They then retired to her house for the night as Mario and Goombella had gotten to expirience one of the legendary parties of Pedalburg. They had both fallen asleap around 3 in the morning under the stars and had woken up lying in the soft grass, the warm sun tickling their skin. Koops had emerged from his house and greeted Mario.

"Well Koops... It has been an honor working with you... I am so sorry about your dad... well... I guess this is it..." said Mario, holding out his hand.

Koops then shocked Mario with his response.

"Oh no... This is not it. I'm coming with you." he had said. "It is time that I did something with my life... continued my dad's legacy." said Koops proudly.

Mario had smiled, a tear in his eye.

"Really? I would love to have you come along." cried Mario.

This kid had more then proved his worth and Mario would love to have him come along. He liked Koops quite a bit and had been dreading him leaving before.

"All right Koops! Welcome to the party!" congradulated Goombella.

"Thanks a bunch!" yelled Koops.

He then ran to tell his town that he would be leaving for an extended period of time. Many of his friends and neighbors had come out to wish him luck, including the mayor and... Koopie Koo.

Koopie Koo was sadened. Last night, Koops had told her his plan. She had wept and begged him not to go but he had already decided. He promised he would come back for her one day. With that he had fallen asleap. Koopie Koo sighed and drifted off to sleep next to Koops, hopfully not for the last time. Now she stood, watching him preparing to leave.

"Koops, I'll be here. Waiting... always." said Koopie Koo, crying a little.

"Ahem... If anything ever happens... this is your home... you can always return to us." said mayor Kroop.

"Thank you, everyone. Well... I guess it is time to go!" said Koops.

He gave Koopie Koo a last hug and then walked up to Mario.

"Sorry about the wait. I have known these people for over twenty years" said Koops.

With that, the three turned and walked into the distance. Koops didn't look back. He looked up at his father who was wishing him good luck. Koops smiled at him and then turned back to Mario.

"So where are we going?" asked Koops.

"I think we need to head back to Rogueport." said Mario.

"The bearer of the Magical Map shall unfurl it before the Thousand-Year Door. When this is done, the stars shall guide the bearer to the Crystal Star with pure light." And it didn't stop there... "Each Crystal Star shall point to the next..." That's what the books say. Which means...if we take the Crystal Star we found back to the Thousand Year Door..." said Goombella, reciting what Frankley had said.

"So...that means the location of the next Crystal Star will appear on that magic map?" asked Koops.

"Exactly!" stated Goombella.

They continued on, passing through Pedal Meadows, enjoying the sun and scenery. A calm had fallen over this place. Hooktail was gone and peace had returned. Suddenly, Mario's phone vibrated. He had received a message, from the Princess judging from the ring. He opened it and sure enough, he had received a message from Peach. Time for some answers. Mario opened the message.

_"My Dearest Mario, I send this letter in the hope that it reaches you safely._

_I am being held against my will in some strange place. Though I do not know_

_where I am, I remain unharmed and in relative comfort. Those who have captured_

_me seem to be after the map I sent to you earlier. They may be hoping to use_

_it to find objects they call the "Crystal Stars". I do not know what they are_

_planning, but I have a feeling it isn't anything positive. Mario, please_

_collect these Crystal Stars before they do. You must! They are already aware_

_that you have the map, so please be very careful. And please... Don't worry_

_about me."_

_-Princess Peach-_

Mario closed the mailbox. He felt kind of relieved due to the fact that she was okay and in confort but worried because now there was no more hiding the fact that this was a serious situation. Mario's last hope that she had simply wondered off, faded. For the first time, Mario really felt like things had gotten out of hand. When she was kidnapped by Bowser, Mario knew where she was and that Bowser wasn't smart enough or orginized enough to pose a big threat. Now, Mario had no idea where she was, what the person who had kidnapped her was capable of, and what would happen if he failed. The biggest problem though would be doing all this in an unfarmiliar land with no allies besides his partners. After a long period of silence, Koops finally spoke.

"Well, she isn't hurt... thats good but other people are looking for the crystal stars too? That isn't good." said Koops, scratching his head.

"Yeah and apparently they know about me and that I have the map." said Mario, reading over the message again.

Mario and his partners continued through Pedal Meadows. They finally arrived at the pipe back to the sewers. Goombella entered first, then Koops. Mario hesitated. He took a last look over this georgeous area that was now peaceful. With a sigh, he dropped into the pipe, ready to see what was in store next. Mario doubted it would be as nice as Pedal Meadows.

After a few minutes of traveling, they had reached the Thousand Year Door again.

"Wow! This is amazing!" yelled Koops, his voice reverberating off the distand walls.

Mario had forgotten that this was Koop's first time seeing the door.

"Alright Mario. Lets see where the next Crystal Star is!" cried Goombella.

Mario jumped onto the pedastool and held up the Crystal Star he had taken from Hooktail. The mysterious blue light returned and encircled the pedastool. This time though, the crystal star floated out of Mario's hands and drifted over to one of the empty circles where it landed with a click sound. Energy was once again sucked into the map in a spectacular light show. Eventually, the lights faded and the map dropped out of the air. Mario picked it up and looked at the map. At the center, near the top, a huge tree had appeared in a purple and white forest. A green crystal star appeared in front of it.

"Wow!" said Koops, stunned.

"Lets take this to professer Frankly and see what he can tell us." suggested Goombella.

"Good idea. Lets go." said Mario.

They walked back through the sewers and were soon back at Frankley's house.

"I see, I see. Crystal clear!" cried Frankly after only researching the topic for about 2 minutes.

Mario, Goombella, and Koops were back in Frankly's house after the short journy. He had been shocked at the tales of Pedal Meadows and Hooktail. Mario showed him the new markings on the map.

"So... where is the next Crystal Star?" asked Koops.

"It's in the Boggly Woods. The second Crystal Star is inside a great tree there." said Frankly.

A great tree? Mario thought he had seen everything but he had been proven wrong twice already. He had seen a dragon and now there was a crystal star hidden inside some sort of tree. Koops apparently was thinking something simmilar.

"A... a great tree?" asked Koops.

"That's right. These woods are very mysterious... full of secrets and odd creatures" said Frankly holding up a picture from his book.

Mario took a look. The picture showed a tiny creature with an oval shaped body which was completely gray except for a few lighter stripes, four tiny legs, large eyes, and an antenna with a greenish ball on top. What the heck was that thing?

"That looks like one of those Punies that live there." said Goombella.

"Right you are Goombella. Once again, you can get to the woods by a pipe that is under the town." said Frankly.

" Um... Professor Frankly... You should probably know... It's about Princess Peach... Mario got an message from her saying that other people are looking for the Crystal Stars. The princess didn't know where she was being held." muttered Koops.

"Uh-oh. If Princess Peach's kidnappers are also looking for the Crystal Stars... What could they hope to achieve? Could the treasure be... Ugh! So many questions! Unfortunately, the only clues we can rely on are the Crystal Stars and that map." said Frankly.

Mario nodded, knowing what would come next.

"Um... Looks like well be going to Boggly Woods!" said Koops.

"Yes, and make haste. If there are others hunting the stars... who knows what could happen? I'll keep researching to learn more about the Crystal Stars and the ancient treasure." said Frankly as he picked up his book again.

"Time to go!" said Goombella happily, putting her helmet back on.

Mario turned and walked out. Time to see what would happen next.

Punio had fled. There was no turning back. How could this happen? Everyone was gone, they must have been taken in their sleep. He was worried sick. Everything he once held dear was missing. Punio crawled through the woods as fast as his legs could carry him. He had escaped for now but who knew when they would come looking for him. The trees creaked and groaned as the wind howled, almost like it was calling for help. Punio leaped over some twigs that had fallen. He needed to go for help! He could never stop what has happening on his own. Would anyone even be willing to help out the Punies of the Great Tree in this desperate time? Only one way to find out. Punio needed to find someone fast!

Mario was soon back in the sewers with Goombella and Koops. They explored the area, hoping to find the pipe that led to the woods but it was nowhere to be found. Mario led his partners lower and lower into the sewers looking for the pipe. After a while, they had turned up nothing. Mario found himself walking for the fifth time through a room that was empty. Suddenly, a small creature ran past their eyes, through a hole in the wall that Mario had not noticed before.

"That looked like one of the creatures from that picture!" cried Koops.

Koops was right. Mario saw one of the creatures that looked just like the picture that Frankly had showed them. It was a puni from Boggly Woods... but what was it doing here? Mario squeezed through the hole and then walked up to it. The creature was against a wall, cowering in terror. Mario advanced and it slipped further towards the wall. Mario wondered why it was so scared? It looked like it had seen a ghost. Then it spoke. His voice was squeaky and shrill but Mario understood it.

"Oh My God! Please don't hurt me! I'm really not that tasty!" shreiked the Puni.

"Calm down... calm down... were not going to hurt you" said Koops, trying to calm the puni down.

"Wait you not?" squeaked the creature.

"No we are not. Its okay." said Mario.

"Oh thank god. I thought I was in trouble there." said the Puni releaved, but he still seemed very upset.

"Well, since you live in Boggly Woods, what are you doing here? Asked Koops.

"Wait... You know about me! You must be working for the X- Nauts! NOOOO! Your LYING! ITS ALL OVER!" screamed the Puni.

"X-Nauts? What the hell are those? Anyway... were not going to hurt you! Just tell us whats going on" said Koops.

"Well... a gang that called themselves the X-Nauts stormed our tree in the dead of night. They took everyone away in their sleep and started tearing the tree apart. I was awake and managed to slip past them. I ran all the way here looking for help." saud the Puni.

X-Nauts? What was going on here? Mario felt lost. The crystal star was supposed to be hidden in some kind of tree in the woods but now one of the creatures from Boggly Woods suddenly had shown up screaming about X-Nauts in their tree? Koops however made the connection.

"A bunch of bad guys in the Great Tree? If those are the same guys who kidnapped the princess, then they are probably looking for the Crystal Star!" said Koops stunned.

"Hey Mario. Ya think that those monsters that attacked me at the docks were X-Nauts?" asked Goombella.

With that statement from Goombella, Mario suddenly realized, those creatures that Lord Crump had been leading earlier when they had attacked Goombella must have been the X-Nauts! What were they doing here? Where was Peach if they had taken her?

Punio stood in front of these enormous creatures. He had reconized the one talking to him as a koopa and the girl in the back as a goomba from tales that the Puni elder had told. He had no idea what the one dressed in red was called. He suddenly realized something. Maybe these huge strangers could help him save his friends! It was worth a try. Punio also remembered the koopa mentioning a crystal star. The elder had spoke of such a thing before. Maybe there could be some sort of trade off? He decided to ask the strangers for help.

"Hey... is there any way that you can help us out? If you do, we'll give you, uh... What was it? The Crystal Star? If you do, we'll have the Puni elder give you that! I don't know what it is, but if it'll help us reclaim our tree, I'm sure the elder will agree to anything! So what do you say? Let's not waste any more time. I'm begging you!" cried Punio despertly.

Mario was taken aback. This creature really needed help, and they had the next crystal star.

"Of course I'll help you." said Mario.

It was a golden oppertunity actually. If it worked, they would get the crystal star and possibly, learn more about the X-Nauts and what they had done with Peach.

"Really? No joke? You'll do it?" cried the Puni.

"I would feel terrible if we didn't. Besides... we need the Crystal Stars!" said Goombella.

"Oh, thank you so much! This is great! I'm so happy! My name is Punio. Pleased to meet you! I'll take you to where I live. Follow me, OK?" said Punio.

Mario, Koops and Goombella introduced themselves also then they followed Punio. He led them through a few rooms. Eventually they reached a single room. There was a pipe that was made out of a tree sticking out of the wall.

"Ready?" asked Punio?

"Definently." replied Mario.

"Ready or not, here we come." snickered Goombella.

With that, Punio entered the pipe. Maybe things would be alright. With these strangers, maybe Punio could take back the tree and save everyone.

Mario followed Punio and entered the pipe. He felt himself being carried a long distance. A cold breeze blew through the pipe. He could see the end approaching fast. The next part of the adventure had begun.


	8. Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree Part 1

Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree

**Part 1: The Boggly Woods**

Mario, Koops, and Goombella emerged from the pipe. A chilly breeze blew through Mario's hair. He stood up and got his first look at the woods. It was a chilling, but strangely beautiful place. The whole forest had coloring that no ordinary forest should have. There were strange pointed trees, all black except for the spectacular while leaves jutting out everywhere. The bushes were black with traces of white on the leaves, and Mario found himself standing in a patch of flowers that were up to his chest, also black and white but containing beautiful purple and teal flowers also. Occasionally, one would wiggle then lift up and float away. The wind whispered as it blew through the trees. Mario looked past the trees and saw strange black hills, speckled with white polka dots and a golden light behind them but no sun in sight.

"Its beautiful isn't it?" stated Punio sadly. "It makes you think about life."

Mario nodded, looking around some more. He saw the path ahead through the woods. He felt like he was in some old black and white movie even though there were spectacular colors on some of the flowers and in the distance. Koops and Goombella simply stood there, spellbound.

"This forest holds too many secrets." whispered Goombella.

"Sometimes I wish I could just sit back and enjoy its beauty again." said Punio.

A tear ran down his face. He longed for the old days when he and the other Punies would wonder the forest, free and in no danger.

"Well, lets see what we can do." said Koops.

The group moved through the forest. The ground was soft under Mario's feet. It almost felt like walking on clouds. The soft flowers brushed his face. The trees shook and leaves fell as the chilling breeze blew through them.

Mario spotted some cloud spirits up ahead. They looked like the Ruff Puffs from Flower Fields but were as white as the forest. Mario took them out with little effort.

Punio watched Mario in silence as he fought and felt a surge of hope. Maybe this man would be able to help.

* * *

Deep in the woods, the Shadow Sirens appeared, ready to ambush Mario when he appeared. Beldam pulled her two sisters off to the edge of the path so they would be ready when he came along.

"Alright. Lets do this and get it over with. You both know what we have to do right?" asked Beldam.

"Yeah. We just have to find Mario and steal the map right? And we can just kill Mario and his friends right? Or maybe that's bad...?" asked Vivian.

"There is very little that is good left in this miserable world. Anyway, Mario should be coming down that road any second now so get ready." spat Beldam.

She took a closer look at Vivian who appeared to be hiding something. She saw that Vivian was holding a beautiful necklace, made out of pure gold.

"Just what the hell is that?" asked Vivian.

"Oh! Its just a necklace I found under a tree we passed earlier. I just picked it up. Its beautiful right? asked Vivian, admiring the necklace.

"Why did you pick it up? Despicable! You greedy, ungrateful, selfish pig!" spat Beldam.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think it was a big deal!" whimpered Vivian.

"Whatever, now none of us know what Mario looks like. Show us the picture of him the Grodus gave you!" demanded Beldam.

Vivian felt her heart skip a beat.

"Wait! I never had the picture! I gave it to you because you said I might loose it!" wailed Vivian.

"You lying bastard! Blaming me for something you screwed up! howled Beldam.

But... Listen... I... Look, it's not my fault... I never had the sketch..." cried Vivian.

"You had the sketch! It is YOUR fault! What a pathetic excuse for a sister, I have always hated you! I have seen better things on the bottom of my feet!" screeched Beldam.

Vivian began to cry.

"Shut up you damn crybaby! I guess I have to make you tell me where you put the sketch!" screamed Beldam.

She drifted over to one of the trees and snapped a branch off it. She grabbed Vivian by the neck and pushed the branch into her cheek.

"One last chance to tell me where you put it!" croaked Beldam, threateningly

"I'm sorry... I didn't have the sketch, I gave it to you." cried Vivian desperately.

"ARE YOU BLAMING ME FOR YOUR PROBLEMS AGAIN! I GAVE YOU THE NECKLACE AND YOU LOST IT YOU UGLY LITTLE BITCH!" screeched Beldam.

Beldam pressed the jagged branch as hard as she could into Vivian's cheek and pulled down. Vivian screamed in agony as the branch cut through her skin. She felt blood begin to pour down her face. Beldam threw the stick into the woods as a crying and bleeding Vivian collapsed onto the forest floor.

"Good day sir." said Beldam to a man in a dressed in Red who had just passed.

She turned back to Vivian.

"Get the fuck up! Find the sketch now!" snorted Beldam.

She and Marylin then turned and floated away, leaving Vivian, who was lying in a pool of her own blood, alone to cry.

* * *

"So what do you think those things were?" asked Mario, scratching his head.

"I don't really know. I've never seen anything like them before." replied Goombella.

"Whatever they were, they didn't seem to get along very well!" said Koops, shaking his head at the sight of one of the witches torturing one of her friends.

"Yeah, that seemed kind of brutal, didn't it?" asked Mario, glancing over his shoulder at one of the witches who was still trying to pull herself up.

"Yeah. I wonder what she did." wondered Koops out loud.

"Hey! Slow down!" cried Goombella, noticing Punio was starting to get too far ahead.

"Okay but we have to hurry!" squeaked Punio, slowing down a bit.

They continued through the woods. The erie wind continued to blow, its chilling song ringing out through the trees. Mario looked down and noticed the ground he was walking over was not exactly normal, judging by the deep green and black grass. White leaves were falling like snow off of the black, cone shaped trees. Strange white creeper wines slowly twisted their way up trees and into the path. Even the ground seemed to be humming a melancholy tune that came and went as the trio walked. The only light was a pale orange one, its rays shining through the leaves of the trees. Mario still couldn't see any sun and it had been at least an hour since they had arrived. Shouldn't it have set or risen by now? This whole scene was very unsettling. Suddenly, Mario felt very afraid.

Punio walked ahead, leading the way to his home. He was more afraid then he had ever been before in his life. He was mainly worried about his sister who had been taken but also, he was concerned for all of his friends and his home. This forest was slipping out of their grasp very quickly. First, the strange army called the X-Nauts takes over their tree, and now strange creatures that he had never even imagined were appearing in the peaceful woods. Would the forest ever be back to the forest he knew as a kid? He and his new friends were literally its last chance.

Mario and his gang kept moving. He didn't know how far away they were but that question was answered soon enough. They reached a cleaing in the woods. Mario swaw no trees in this area except for one massive exception. In front of him stood a gigantic tree. It was truly massive! Mario looked up and saw the tree's canopy towering at least 500 feet above him. Sparkling white leaves reached out in all directions and touched the sky. The entire tree appeared to shimmer, bathed in the golden light that was emitting from the unseen sun. The tree's trunk was massive and solid, probably a few hundred feet thick.

Mario couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had assumed that a great tree for a creature the size of a puny would be a normal sized tree. This tree was bigger then any tree Mario had ever seen, and probably would ever see. A stream with glittering blue water ran through the purple ground and emitted a soothing sound that made Mario almost want to close his eyes and fall asleep. He looked again at the tree. There were moving white vines all over the enormous trunk, snaking their way up and down. The magical vines crawled along the tree, on their own. The light shining through the massive canopy cast strange, shifting lights on the forest floor. Beautiful leaves fell everywhere, almost covering the ground. The wind howled all around Mario, ocasinally blowing the coating of leaves away and exposing the purple grass.

"Oh my god!" cried Goombella, breathless.

"You weren't lying about this tree! Its huge!" stuttered Koops.

"Its a place I like to call home. Or at least, up until now. Now we are being forced out by the X-Nauts." said Punio sadly.

"Yeah, well not for much longer." said Mario, angrily.

Mario decided that he would do anything to reclaim Punio's tree. Punio was a living being and he deserved to have his home, and live freely. He walked over to Punio.

"Alright. Lets take back your tree. You know, your a really brave kid to be wanting to save your friends in a situation like this." said Mario.

"Kid? I'm actually 48 years old, but anyway, these people are my family, I have to help them. I will go to the ends of the earth to save them." said Punio, glaring at the tree.

Mario and his partners approached the tree. He noticed something that was odd about the tree. There was a big, red door that was cut into the trunk. It was made of steel.

"Wait... what the...?" mumbled Punio, approaching the door.

Mario walked up to the door and tugged on it. It didn't move at all. It was locked, and sturdy.

"This door wasn't here before. The X-Nauts must have installed it to keep potential help out." said Punio, defeated.

"There has to be another way in! It... it just can't end like this!" cried Goombella, furious.

"There just might be..." said Punio, deep in thought.

"Wait... there is another way in?" asked Koops, looking up and down at the enormous tree.

"The elder told me once about a secret entrance into the tree to be used if anything happened." said Punio, his confidence returning.

"So... where is it?" asked Mario.

"I... I really don't know. But I know someone who probably does. Madam Flurrie. She has watched over these sacred woods for thousands of years. She would know where the entrance is!" cried Punio, happily.

"Thousands of years?" mumbled Goombella, doubtfully.

"Yes! She lives deep in the woods... well, at least, deeper in the woods. We should pay her a visit. She would do anything for us!" said Punio.

"Sounds like that's our best bet. Goombella, I want you to stay here and make sure nothing happens while were getting Flurrie. I don't want the X-Nauts trying anything while I'm gone." said Mario.

"Alright! Sounds like a plan." said Goombella, sitting down on one of the exposed roots of the huge tree.

"Alright. Off to find Madam Flurrie. Lead the way." said Mario.

Punio led them past the Great Boggly Tree and deeper into the Boggly Woods. The fate of an entire civilzation, rested in their hands.

* * *

"I can't find the sketch! I... I never had it." cried Vivian, holding her cheek which was still dripping blood. Beldam raced over and grabbed Vivian by the neck.

"I swear to god... If you don't find that damn sketch...I will personally peel every inch of skin of your miserable body." hissed Beldam.

"Get the hell off of me!" yelled Vivian, pushing Beldam away.

Beldam was taken off balance. Her hat fell off and a small piece of paper fell out and landed next to the hat. It was the sketch.

"I told you! I knew it! You took the sketch back!" cried Vivian triumphantly.

"Shut up! Shut UP! You are my LITTLE SISTER! DON'T talk back to ME! I hate you so much! I am going to break every bone in your fucking BODY!" screamed Beldam, pushing a screaming Vivan up against a tree.

"Gugh... W... Wait..." blubbered Marylin, who had picked up the paper.

Both Vivan and Beldam froze at the sound of Marylin speaking. Beldam took a look at the man in the picture. What she saw left her speechless.

* * *

"Uhm, excuse me sir, you wouldn't happen to have seen a young woman in a bright pink dress?" asked Frankley.

He was walking around Rogueport again, trying to find any information at all on what had happened to the Princess. She had been kidnapped, that was for sure but by who? Where were they?

"Get lost ya old Geezer!" mumbled the Pianta that Frankley was talking to.

"Uh... thanks." said Frankly.

This was useless. No one knew anything, or at least, everyone hid what they knew well. Frankly wasn't getting anywhere. Frankly began to walk back to his house. It was dangerous at this hour. Actually, it was always dangerous but at dusk, the Robbos members emerged. Sure, they were occasionally seen during daytime but dusk was their main working time. Anyone who wished to see the light of another day needed to go inside and lock the doors.

Frankly passed the center of Rogueport. He quickly glanced into the newspaper shop and froze. One of the main sections of the Rogueport Weekly was random blurbs from the citizens. Usually, they had comments on the turf war, or developments in the treasure hunt. An anonymous quote said "Today, I saw the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life. I think I have found true love in my soul at last!" read the blurb.

Beautiful woman, in Rogueport? It had to be Peach. Who else would be crazy enough to come here? Unfortunately, the only thing this article did was prove that Peach was in fact in Rogueport which was already known. Frankly still knew nothing of what happened or where she was now.

"You should head home old man. Its dangerous out here." whispered a voice behind Frankly.

He spun around and saw three Robbos members, dressed in rags standing behind him. Two of them were sharpening long, silver knives.

"I...I was just leaving!" bleated Frankly, terrified.

He turn and ran back to his house and slammed the door. That was too close! The Robbos often killed in the blink of an eye. He had gotten a lucky break. Frankly stood there shaking for a minute until the fear gradually went away. He then walked back to his books and continued reading about the treasure, his heart still thumping in his cheast.

"The theory of the treasure was first conceived by Robert Rogueport, a geologist who was researching the area where Rogueport now stands. He was the one who spread the word about the treasure and brought the crowds here, leading to the creation of the city which bears his name. Robert is the reason that the town of Rogueport stands here today. When asked about his theory and why he believed a treasure was here, Robert simply replied that it had to be one because they were standing on..."

Frankly read the sentence over and over again. That couldn't be! How could that be? Mario needed to know about this as soon as possible! Frankly figured that Mario would be back soon and could then learn about what Frankly had just researched. After all, they were just getting a crystal star from the smallest and most harmless creatures out there. They were probably on their way back already. Right?

* * *

Flurrie looked out her window and gazed at the surreal scenery that was Boggly Woods. She had lived there for about a two thousand years so far and looked forward to many more. On this particular day, she was doing nothing but enjoying life.

"Ahhh. I am so lucky to be living here in these woods. Nothing but peace, and happiness. Building a house in these woods was truly my best idea ever." said Flurrie, talking to herself.

She gazed out the window again. She could see the massive shape of the Great Boggly Tree, about a mile away. That was the best part of the woods in her mind.

"The punies that live there are adorable and they have always been so nice to me! These woods are perfect." said Flurrie, enthusiastically.

Flurrie often had these conversations with herself. The truth was, she was very bored living in these woods. She was a retired actress who had once traveled the world as an actress, performing for audiences of all shapes and sizes.

"Yes, yes. I guess if I stay here to long, Ill begin to crave adventure and performing again but why? When everything is so perfect, would I really throw it away for spotlight?" pondered Flurrie, pacing her bedroom.

"I think it is happening now! Oh no! I feel the need to stand in the spotlight and deliver true passion to this world! I was born to be an actress forever!" cried Flurrie.

She often tried to talk herself into believing the woods were perfect but her true desires could not be held in. Flurrie rose and looked into the mirror.

"It is settled. I will return! I am destined for the stage and nothing will change that. I have to get into shape again but that will not be difficult" purred Flurrie, talking to her own reflection.

She reached into her purse and pulled out her makeup. She quickly dabbed below here eyes. She then got packed up her kit and got ready to leave her house, to return to the stage. There was just one more thing. Flurrie opened her purse to grab the necklace that her grandmother had given to her as a gift, the day of her first show. Flurrie looked and looked as the truth slowly sunk in.

"NOOO! My necklace! Its gone!" screamed Flurrie.

"I must have dropped it! But where? I can't loose it! I need to find it!" cried Flurrie, desperate.

"It could be anywhere though!" cried Flurrie, sitting back down, miserably.

* * *

Mario, Koops, and Punio were walking through a large patch of white flowers with black stems. They had been walking for about fifteen minutes since they had left Goombella on watch at the Great Boggly Tree.

"Were almost there. I think I see the clearing where her house is." reassured Punio.

"Good, my feet are getting tired." mumbled Koops, stopping for a second to relace his shoes.

They continued and reached the clearing. Mario looked ahead and saw a charming little house ahead. It was yellow, with a bright red roof. Two stone pillars stood on either side of the house's door. There were also deep green bushes surrounding the house.

"Here we are! This is Flurrie's house. Lets ask her for help!" yipped Punio, picking up the pace.

Mario felt like he had stepped out of some old movie and back into reality. The Boggly Woods were so strange and surreal, with all of the unatural colors. These were the first green plants that Mario had seen in hours. The color almost hurt his eyes.

The trio reached the house and Mario knocked on the door. It creaked open.

"Hello? Hello! Madam Flurrie? Are you there?" yelled Punio, entering the house.

Mario and Koops followed. They stepped into the house and found themselves in a massive room that was completely red. There were bright red plants everywhere and at least thirty windows. There was a blue carpet that was so thick, Mario had sunk down to his ankles in it. Mario looked ahead and saw a blue, carpeted staircase leading up to a second floor.

"What? Are we in the house we just saw?" asked Koops, looking around.

"I think? I don't know how, but I think." said Mario, dumbfounded.

It didn't make any sense. Mario and Koops had clearly seen a one story house that was even smaller then Mario's house. Yet on the inside, it was gigantic and it had two stories!

"You are in the same house. It is a spell that Flurrie put on the house. You see, Flurrie isn't a person, she is a cloud spirit and she can do some pretty amazing things." explained Punio.

"You got that right." agreed Mario.

"Man. I bet Goombella would have liked to see this." said Koops, still staring at the scene.

The group climbed the staircase. They saw nothing more that a few comfortable looking chairs that happened to be made out of gold. There was no sign of Flurrie. Punio walked up to a door.

"This is Flurrie's private room. Maybe she is in here. Give it a knock." said Punio.

Mario stepped forward and knocked.

"Madam Flurrie! Are you here?" yelled Punio.

There was a crashing sound from inside the room.

"NOOO! YOU CAN"T COME IN! Out of the question! No ONE can see me like this" screamed a deep voice from the other side of the door.

Mario and Koops jumped. It was definitely a woman but she had a loud and powerful tone.

"Flurrie? Are you okay? Whats wrong?" asked Punio, concerned.

"Pu...Punio? Is that you dear? Its been years since you have come here to see me! Is everything alright?" asked the voice, calmer now.

"Well, there is kind of a big problem. The Great Tree's entrance is blocked. All of my friends have been kidnapped and are trapped inside, and Mario here needs to get the Crystal Star which is located inside the tree! Its a mess! I was told there was a secret entrance and I thought you might know where it is." explained Punio, sadness in his voice.

"That's it? Well of course I will help you. I would do anything in the world for you... but alas, I am in a bit of a pickle myself." said Flurrie.

"Whats the matter?" asked Punio.

"Well... This is embarrassing... but I seem to have lost my favorite necklace. It means the world to me and I have never been seen without it since my grandmother gave it to me so I can't go out at the moment. I need the necklace to go out. I would be ruined without it!" cried Flurrie, her voice shaking the walls.

Koops though for a moment and then he remembered something.

"Hey Mario! You remember those three purple creatures we passed on the way to the Great Tree? I could have sworn I heard them discussing a necklace!" said Koops.

"YOU! Whoever that was who just spoke! You know about my necklace?" screamed Flurrie.

"I think. And I'm Koops by the way." said Koops, holding his ears.

"You must help me out! Please find it for me and I swear I will do everything in my power to help you and... uh... Mario, get the Crystal Star and Punio save his friends!" cried Flurrie.

Koops looked at Mario and shrugged. Mario nodded at Koops.

"Okay. Well get your necklace." said Koops.

"Thank you so much! I'm so sorry to do this to you!" said Flurrie.

"Its okay. Well find it! All we need to do is ask those things we saw for it. I'm sure they will agree if we tell them the situation" said Punio.

Mario was a little less confident, seeing the brutality of the, earlier but there appeared to be no other option. The three then turned and walked out of the house and back into the woods.

* * *

"We missed him! That was Mario who passed earlier! Its all your fault again!" screamed Beldam, giving Vivian a hard push.

"No its not! You were to busy blaming me for losing the picture to notice that he passed!" cried Vivian in defense.

"I swear to god! If I wasn't your sister, I would tear you apart and watch you die." snapped Beldam.

"I'm sorry I was born then. Would have been better huh?" said Vivian, close to tears.

"Better? It would be my dream come true." spat Beldam.

"Well, I'm sorry... for everything. I truly am..." sighed Vivan.

"I bet you are you piece of shit. Now we have to go find this Mario guy because of you! Come on, lets go." snapped Beldam, drifting ahead.

Marylin followed. Vivian didn't. She simply stood there, unable to believe what her sister thought of her. This wasn't a family disagreement, Beldam didn't want her around. And why should she stay with Beldam anyway and just be abused? Vivian guessed it was because no one else cared about her enough to even talk to her. Sadly, Vivian drifted after her sisters. This cold, miserable world was no place for Vivian and she didn't know what kept her from just giving up. There must have been something, even the faintest glimmer of hope was enough to keep her from just giving up, even though the light at the end of the tunnel was as black as the night.

* * *

Goombella sat under the enormous branches of the Great Boggly Tree. So far, nothing had happened. No one had gone in or come out of the tree. She was bored. Goombella got up and started to wonder around the base of the tree. There was a faint whispering sound. Goombella moved closer to the tree, marveling at how amazing and magical this tree was.

Goombella pressed her ears against the tree and listened. She suddenly shivered as a cold breeze blew by. It was an ordinary even in the woods but this time something was different. The cold lingered and Goombella could see her breath. Something had changed... something was very wrong.

"Mario! Are you there?" called Goombella, praying for a reply.

There was no answer. It was almost as if...BANG! There was a huge noise like a thunderclap and a chunk of the Great Boggly Tree splintered and was blown in all directions. Goombella was blown off her feel and landed hard on her back. Gasping for breath, she sat up and tried to see her attackers.

There was nothing in sight. Suddenly, a shadow slid towards her.

"Mario! Help!" cried Goombella, desperately.

She was suddenly jerked off her feet and pinned to the ground by unseen hands.

"So... You know about Mario do you? You better start talking." creaked a voice as cold as the wind.

"What the hell is going on!" yelled Goombella.

Two more shadows appeared next to the one that was holding Goombella down. Slowly, the shadows turned purple and took shape. Goombella stared, wide eyed at the three witches that floated before her. They were a purplish color, nothing human about them. The smallest witch, the one that was holding her down, was furious, embers burning in her eyes.

"What I meant was if you don't tell me everything you know about Mario, your dead." spat Beldam, holding down the Goomba that she had just heard calling for Mario.

Vivian and Beldam watched silently. The Goomba girl was struggling but Beldam easily held her down.

"I'm not telling you a god damn thing so you better kill me now!" hissed the Goomba.

"Sounds like a plan! VIVIAN! Prove you are useful for once! Burn her and lets move on." Croaked Beldam.

Vivian floated over. All three of the sisters were magical and were masters of one element. Marylin was master of lightning, Beldam of ice, and Vivian of fire. Beldam wanted her to burn up the poor Goomba who had done nothing wrong! Vivian looked down and saw the fear in the Goomba girl's eyes.

"Do it! NOW!" howled Beldam.

Vivian lifted her hands and pointed them at the Goomba. She noticed her hands were shaking uncontrollably. This was not right. She couldn't kill an innocent being. She lowered her hands and drifted away, hanging her head.

"What a surprise. Can't even kill a damn Goomba. Your even worse than I ever imagined. I guess I have to do it myself." hissed Beldam, twirling her fingers, preparing her spell.

"KEEP AWAY FROM HER YOU BITCH!" screamed Koops, charging forward.

He hit Beldam with a flying tackle which threw her off of Goombella. Koops grabbed Goombella and helped her up.

"Koops! Thank god." said Goombella, hugging Koops.

Mario walked out of the woods behind Koops and Goombella. He stopped when he saw the witches.

"Hello. I'm Mario. We passed you earlier. So who are you three?" asked Mario, oblivious to what had just happened.

"Were the three Shadow Sirens, Vivian, Marylin, and me, Beldam. Nice to meet you Mario. Now that introductions are over I'm gonna kill you and take that map!" yelled Beldam.

"Oh, I see." said Mario, calmly.

With that, he grabbed his hammer and charged forward at Beldam. Mario swung his hammer in an upward arch with all of his might. Beldam vanished in flash of light. Mario looked around trying to find her but he was slammed to the ground before he could turn around. Beldam had appeared behind him and hit him in the neck.

"Mario!" cried Goombella, running towards him.

Mario climbed slowly to his feet. He was a bit shaky from Beldam's hit but he was still fine. Koops sprinted towards Marylin who had begun to advance on them. Marylin held up her hands and a ball of lightning appeared between them. The sky darkened as the crackling lightning danced around Marylin's hands.

"Koops! Stop!" yelled Mario, certain that Koops would not be able to win.

Marylin pointed her hands at Koops and a huge bolt of lightning shot out with a thundering bang! Koops was thrown at least 20 feet backwards, screaming all the way, where he crashed into a tree and lay still.

"Koops!" cried Mario, running towards his fallen friend.

"You Bastards! I'm going to kill you all!" cried Goombella, running forward.

Beldam floated forward and grabbed Goombella who began gasping for air. She felt a coldness that she had never felt before. Her heart was slowing down and she quickly felt herself loosing concisness. Darkness closed in quickly. Beldam hurled the lifeless body of Goombella at Mario's feet.

"Goombella!" yelled Mario. He kneeled down next to her. She was alive, but only just. He looked up at the three Shadow Sirens who were closing in on him.

"You will never take this map!" yelled Mario.

He ran at Beldam as fast as he could. Vivian floated forward to presumably stop him but she hesitated. Mario plowed into Beldam who grunted and fell backwards. Marylin came to Beldam's aid quickly. She punched Mario in the face and Mario collapsed in a heap, blood running from his nose and forehead.

"Valiant effort, but no success. What a weak little man. Any last words?" asked Beldam, her sisters at her side.

Mario tried to crawl away but he found he didn't have enough energy to move. He rolled over to see Marylin advance on him. She raised her hands and Mario saw bright red lightning begin to crackle between them.

"YOU SHALL NOT HARM MARIO!" boomed a thundering voice.

There was a sound like a freight train plowing through the woods. Mario watched as everything in front of him, the trees, the bushes, and even the ground were ripped up and blasted backwards in a tidal wave of dust that blocked out the light. The three Shadow Sirens didn't even have time to cry out as they were thrown backwards. A huge figure, obscured by shadow flew past Mario and reached the three fallen sisters.

Mario pulled himself up and tried to focus his eyes. He wiped the blood from them and looked over. The huge figure was floating over the three sisters, beating them senseless. Mario could hear the impact of its massive fists as they connected over and over again.

"AL... Alright! STOP! " cried Beldam.

The figure backed off and the three Shadow Sirens shakily got up.

"If I ever see you in these woods again, I won't have any mercy. I'm a women of my word." said the figure.

"Fine... Mario! Don't think you have seen the last of us!" cried Beldam.

"And gimme that Necklace!" shouted the figure.

"Alright! I'm sorry!" cried Vivian, handing the figure the necklace.

The three Shadow Sirens drifted off. They had lost.

The figure that had saved them put on the necklace then floated into the light.

"Flurrie! You saved us! Thank you!" cried Punio, emerging from a fallen tree stump that he had dived into at the first sign of trouble.

Mario stepped forward and got his first look at Flurrie. The first thing he noticed was that Flurrie was about twice his size, a cloud spirit. Her body was a light shade of blue, except for her long flowing hair which was purple. She had on large bright green earrings and a golden bracelet. The golden necklace that she had picked up was almost lost from sight between her enormous breasts which were bigger then basketballs.

"You don't need to thank me, I am forever in your debt Punio." said Flurrie, speaking much softer now in a deeply seductive voice.

"You came out without your necklace?" asked Punio, puzzled.

"When your friends are in trouble, nothing matters but helping them, not even beauty." replied Flurrie, looking at Punio affectionately.

She turned around and looked at Mario who had returned to his fallen friends.

"Oh dear. Looks like I wasn't quite quick enough." said Flurrie, sadly.

"At least you came, this would have been a lot worse otherwise. They are still alive." replied Mario, successfully feeling a pulse on Goombella.

"Lets see what I can do." said Flurrie, floating over.

"Its alright. Ill just take these two back to Rogueport and get them to a hospital." said Mario.

Flurrie reached his Koops. She picked him up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Nothing happened for a few moments. Koops coughed suddenly.

"Koops!" yelled Mario running over.

"M...Mario? I'm alive?" muttered Koops in between breaths.

"Yes, you took quite a hit." said Mario, relieved.

"I feel really good actually." said Koops, standing up and stretching.

Mario turned and looked at Flurrie amazed.

"You saved him! That's amazing! Thank you again Flurrie."

"Your welcome. I don't believe we have met." said Flurrie.

"Oh, I'm Mario. I'm not exactly from around here." said Mario, glancing over at Goombella who was still out cold.

"Ah yes, Mario. Your the one who I heard mentioned earlier. As you know, I'm Madam Flurrie, at your service. I prefer Flurrie though." said Flurrie, noticing Goombella.

Flurrie floated over and revived Goombella.

"Ugh... Thanks lady." muttered Goombella, climbing shakily to her feet.

"Your welcome. I am a spirit of the clouds, I have some healing powers and it is nice to be able to use them finally." said Flurrie.

"Oh, this is Goombella and this is Koops." said Mario, pointing to each.

"Well, its nice to meet you all, and thanks for tracking down those whackjobs who had my necklace." said Flurrie, glancing down at it proudly.

"No problem." said Mario.

"Thanks for saving us, Madam." said Koops, awkwardly.

Mario noticed that Koops was staring. He fought the urge to laugh.

"Its fine! And call me Flurrie!" replied Flurrie, laughing.

Punio had been watching them getting to know each other for a few minutes. Time was short for his friends.

Hey Flurrie, do you think you could do us one more favor and help us get into the tree?" asked Punio.

"Ah! I almost forgot. Of course! Lets go and help out the rest of you adorable punies!" cooed Flurrie.

So after the quick introductions, the five headed back to the tree. When they reached it, Mario noticed that the leaves and vines had changed color. The tree was still black but the white creeping vines had changed to a beautiful deep green and the massive branches now held blue and red leaves. This forest was nothing but enchanting. Flurrie floated out in front of the group.

"Is everyone behind me?" asked Flurrie, looking back.

"Yes. Go ahead." replied Punio.

Flurrie drew a huge breath and then blew a huge blast of air at the base of the trunk. Mario watched as all of the leaves on the lower half of the tree blasted off and were sent flying, along with loose pieces of bark. A small hole was revealed about 20 feet over the door.

"There it is!" cried Punio, running forward.

He scaled a vine that led to the hole and crawled in.

"So Mario, you mentioned crystal stars earlier?" asked Flurrie.

"Yeah. I need to find them, it may be the only way to rescue my friend who was kidnapped." replied Mario.

"Oh. I see. Well Mario, you have helped me out and been good to me and I would like to return the favor my dear. I will come with you and help you save your friend." said Flurrie.

"Thanks for the offer. Why would you want to come with us though?" asked Mario, slightly surprised.

"You see, thousands of years ago, I used to be an actress. It was my dream when I was little and I toured the world preforming. I have since retired and moved to these woods to escape the filth of the world. And soon enough, I came to realize the beauty of these Punies and their pure little hearts... It reminded me of myself, my own innocence as an actress. And that made me realize... I will always love the stage! I must feel the spotlight shine on me again! I MUST! As you can see, these dear little Punies helped me find my true self... That's why I must help them however I can before I go on my own adventures so I'll be joining you! I assume that's alright?" asked Flurrie, partially lost in her memories.

Mario thought about it. He saw no harm in having extra help.

"Sure. If that's what you really want, its fine." said Mario.

"Welcome Flurrie." said Goombella, a hint of jelousy in her voice maybe.

About ten seconds later, the door in the tree slid open. Punio appeared at the enterence.

"Its all clear! Come on!" cried Punio, disappearing into the tree.

Mario and his three partners followed Punio. Mario paused for a second at the entrance.

"Is everything alright Mario?" asked Koops, following Mario's gaze.

"I'm fine... Its just...these woods are truly beautiful, I was just having one last look." said Mario, captivated.

Mario had never felt this way. He could not describe why he was so entranced by these woods. He felt almost...sad. These woods seemed to bring back memories.

"Is it about Goombario?" asked Koops, still looking ahead.

Mario looked at Koops, shocked.

"How...how do you know about that? stuttered Mario.

"You were talking in your sleep about him. Is he a friend of yours?" asked Koops.

"Well...He...Uh... he was a friend, but he passed away a while ago." said Mario, looking at the white trees.

The forest seemed to shimmer in the golden light from the unseen sun. The light reflected off the beautiful leaves and the deep blue ground as if it were mourning. Soft musical notes floated arond them, seemingly from nowhere.

"I'm sorry. You must miss him." said Koops, looking at the gound.

"I did up until about a week ago. I've been seeing him, he sort of keeps me going. He is always there when I am worried, he is my symbol of hope." said Mario.

"I understand. Me and my dad talk alot also. It helps when the going is rough." said Koops.

"Hey. Everything is gonna turn out alright. Thank you so much for being here for me." said Mario.

He and Koops hugged and then turned and headed into the Great Boggly Tree, side by side.


	9. Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree Part 2

_The Great Boggly Tree_

_Part 2: Those Who Walk Alone_

Mario and Koops, who had just entered the Great Boggly Tree, both stopped dead in their tracks. The Boggly Woods had been impressive but the inside of this tree was breathtaking. Mario looked around, his mind unable to process what he was seeing.

The first thing Mario noticed was that there were actually bushes and other trees growing inside of the Great Tree. Mario glanced up to assure himself that he was infact in a tree and his jaw dropped again. He and his partners were completely surrounded by water!

"Yeah, the tree has a thick cyst that holds thousands of gallons of water. The water can flow through all parts of the tree," said Punio, reading Mario's mind.

"This is amazing!" stammered Goombella.

Mario reached out and felt the walls. To his surprise, they were bone dry even though he could see water flowing behind them. The water itself had to be the cleanest, most sparkling water Mario had ever seen. It even twinkled in the light. Mario looked up and saw a waterfall, falling from high above. It must have been a leak in the tree's trunk. The water hit the ground where it flowed into a pool. The ground was covered in yellow vines and shrubbery. Brilliant white vines snaked their way up and down the walls of the tree.

Mario looked towards the back of the chamber and saw three glass sculptures, shaped into the form of giant vases. They had white drawings all over them, presumably the language of the Punie's ancestors. Punio however seemed a big distressed.

"This is the gathering point of the tree." mumbled Punio, looking around curiously.

"Do you think anyone escaped? Are you sure everyone was captured?" asked Goombella.

"I think but I could be wrong. Hey! Elder! Everyone! Hello?" yelled Punio.

There was no answer. Mario walked farther into the tree's main chamber. He couldn't take his eyes off the see through walls of the tree. He was so mesmerized that he bumped into a person, knocking them both to the ground. A person? Mario pulled himself up to get a better look.

"What the hell are you doing? Your supposed to be watching the enterance!" yelled the creature.

Mario let go and stepped back confused. The creature turned around and jumped a mile.

"Hey! Your not Paul! Your...MARIO!" yelled the creature.

Mario realized this was one of the creatures he had seen with Lord Crump earlier. He had the same red and white suit and round glasses.

"Its an X-Naut! Looks out!" yelled Punio.

Mario ran forward and tackled the X-Naut. They both crashed to the ground.

"Hey man, let me up!" cried the X-Naut struggling.

Mario held on tight. Not before some questions were answered.

"Tell me what is going on. Why are you in this tree? Who are you working for? Why do you want the Crystal Stars?" asked Mario rapidly.

"I'm not... telling you... a damn thing!" cried the X-Naut, still struggling.

"Wrong answer." snickered Goombella.

Flurrie floated over to Mario.

"Don't make him repeat himself." boomed Flurrie threateningly.

Mario smiled to himself. He was about to ask again when another voice rang out.

"Hello, welcome to the Great Tree." said the voice.

Mario glanced up just in time to see a boot flying at his face. It connected solidly and Mario fell off the X-Naut and onto the ground. His nose began to drip blood. Another X-Naut had joined the first.

"Its about time Paul! You picked a bad time to slack off." cried the first X-Naut.

"Yeah, whatever. Now lets take care of Mario so we get the credit." cried the second X-Naut whose name was Paul.

They both ran forward. Mario was still on the ground. He was fine but the kick to the face had left him dazed. Koops ran forward and grabbed the closest one. The X-Naut attempted to hit Koops but it was useless. Koops headbutted the X-Naut who collapsed, no time to even cry out. Flurrie had reached the second one. She grabbed him by the neck, spun him around, and smashed him into the tree's trunk. There was a cracking sound and another waterfall began to flow, trickling out of the tree. Flurrie had shoved the X-Nauts head clean through the trunk! She released her grip and with a groan, the second X-Naut fell to the ground. It would be a while before they woke up again.

Mario had gotten shakily to his feet.

"Are you okay sweetie?" asked Flurrie, concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks for the help!" said Mario, who was feeling better.

"That's good. Well, the X-Nauts clearly have control of the tree. Lets get it back!" said Goombella, glancing over at Punio who was still looking for his friends.

Mario walked over and suddenly saw a flash of gray from behind one of the glass sculptures. Punio saw it too.

"Hey! Come out! Its me Punio!" yelled Punio.

Mario glanced over and saw another Puni dash between the glass sculptures.

"Its alright! None of us are going to hurt you." said Mario, trying to comfort the terrified Punies.

"He is telling the truth. He already has started to clean up the bad guys from the woods." squeaked Punio.

A lone puni slowly crawled out from behind the glass sculpture. He looked just like Punio, just without gray stripes on his back. Mario also noticed that he had a yellow ball on the end of his antenna, unlike Punio's green one.

"Punio! Are you crazy! This monster will kill us all!" squeaked the Puni, terrified.

"No he won't. He has already helped me start to take back our woods. Even Madame Flurrie has joined us!" reassured Punio.

Mario didn't really know what to say so he just stood there, looking around. He glanced at Flurrie who was muttering something about how adorable and squishy the Punies were. Mario took another look at the amazing tree. He couldn't believe how old this tree must have been or what strange enchantments caused the tree to almost...come alive.

"Everything will be fine. We can take back our homes! There is still a chance!" cried Punio.

"Alright. I trust you...for now He better be on our side." said the other Puni.

Punio felt a surge of hope. He didn't know where the elder, his sister, or anyone else was but at least he had a little more help then before. Every little bit counted. Punio suddenly noticed an antenna sticking out from behind the glass sculpture on the right.

"Hey! Who else is back there?" asked Punio.

"Its alright. Its safe." said the Puni, that Punio had been talking to.

A group of about fifteen Punies crawled out from behind hiding, some still terrified that Mario would be their downfall.

"Well, this is a little better." said Punio.

"Everyone is gone. Their being held somewhere. Everyone except us of course." squeaked a puni.

"Well I guess we'll have to do something about that." replied Punio.

"Not so fast." cried a slightly deeper voice.

Mario turned to see another Puni emerge from behind the glass sculpture. He looked similar, all gray with a yellow antenna but this puni was a great deal fatter. His body looked like a balloon that was about to burst, the fat even covering the bottom of his eyes.

"You might be willing to throw away our safety at the drop of a hat and trust anyone but you can bet your ass I won't! He could be working for the X-Nauts for all you know!" barked the large puni

"Oh for crying out loud... he already has helped us Puniper! I definitely trust him and I suggest you do the same if you ever want to save our tree!" squeaked Punio angrily.

Punio turned to the other punies who were watching the confrontation with interest.

"Listen, I have seen what Mario and his partners can do. I mean, they just beat up a couple of those X-Nauts a few minutes ago! If we work together with Mario and catch the X-Nauts off guard, we can get rid of them for good! We can take back our Great Boggly Tree! We can take back our homes!" cried Punio, dramatically.

"You really think so?" asked one of the Punies.

"I know we can. I have seen our race do great things. When we band together, we can do anything. Just because we are small doesn't mean we are inferior! Quite the opposite. With Mario and his partners joining us, the X-Nauts won't have a chance!" yelled Punio to the crowd of Punies.

Mario was impressed by this display. Punio was more of a leader then he had originally thought. He was shaping up to maybe turn the tide of this situation. All the Punies in the crowd except Puniper seemed convinced and willing to fight beside Punio.

"Haha. The great Punio is going to lead us to a victory! How cute. You sounded so convincing there that I almost believed you! What a joke. Your going to get yourself killed and I am not going on a suicide mission with you today!" snapped Puniper.

Punio looked around, desperate for support. Mario stepped forward to support Punio which caused several Punies to cry out in terror. Mario stepped back, not wanted to push the tension over the edge. Punio however noticed something else.

"The Elder and my sister arent here. Were they taken too?" asked Punio, dreading the response.

"I told you already. They have all been captured. The X-Nauts have the elder and your sister." said a Puni from the crowd.

"They have Petuni..." whispered Punio, staring at the gound.

"Uh Huh. They were taken last night, after you disappeared you coward! They were asking about some crystal thing which we couldn't tell them about since we didn't know what it was!" brawled Puniper.

"So, it looks like the crystal star is here after all." whispered Goombella to Mario.

"I went out looking for help! And I found Mario. I did my job now help me out! am going to save the rest of my family. I am going to help all the other Punies, the elder, and my dear sister Petuni. Now are you guys coming or not?" howled Punio.

The crowd of Punies was silent. Mario realized that Puniper's words had completely taken their hopes away.

"You are crazy. You won't be able to do anything against those X-Nauts. And besides, its not just the X-Nauts you have to worry about! The cursed Jabbi tribe is working with for them. They want to force us out and have our tree all to themselves after the X-Nauts have left! With all the Jabbies and X-Nauts working together, we won't be able to touch them and working with this fat old man won't help one bit!" bellowed Puniper.

"We have to try! If we all work together we can save do anything! We can save our brothers and sisters. The stupid Jabbies are no match for us and the X-Nauts aren't that strong! We can do it! Now who will help me?" bleated Punio.

"Dream on. I'm staying right here. Go ahead though, by all means. Start the glorious battle to take back our tree! Tell you what, if you can save the elder, I might even consider joining your little crusade!" laughed Puniper.

"Fine! Me and Mario are going. You can sit back and watch as we are forced out of our home but I sure as hell won't." hissed Punio.

"Come on Mario. We'll show them." muttered Punio.

"Time to go guys." said Mario.

Goombella, Koops, and Flurrie got up and walked over to where Mario and Punio were standing.

"That Puniper is pissing me off." snarled Goombella.

"He didn't seem very friendly but that doesn't matter right now. We can get your home back. We just have to take small steps. Lets start by freeing the elder. I have a feeling that it might raise spirits if your leader is back with you." suggested Mario.

"That sounds like a good idea. A raise of morale can't hurt." agreed Punio.

"Alright, lets look for where they are being held." said Mario, stretching.

"The only way is up from here. There are hollowed out chutes in the the tree leading up." said Punio, glancing towards a tunnel that was cut into the wood.

"Alright! Lets get going." said Mario.

Mario and his partners all headed out, leaving the crowd of Punies behind.

The group went up through one of the tunnels. It sloped steeply upward until it was going almost straight up. Punio scaled the chute easily.

"How are we going to get up that?" asked Goombella.

"Ill carry you." replied Flurrie.

Flurrie picked up Goombella and floated up the chute.

"Alright Koops. Looks like were climbing up." said Mario.

He pushed his back against the wall and began to push himself up using his legs. Koops did the same. The chute was thin enough to continue this method of climbing. Soon, Mario and Koops had reached the top of the chute where Punio, Goombella, and Flurrie were waiting.

"How do you climb those like that?" asked Koops, panting.

"Its easy for me. I climb these chutes everyday." squeaked Punio.

Mario took a look around at the area of the tree they were in now. It was very similar to the main area, containing clear wood which showed the thousands of gallons of water circling throughout the tree. White creeper vines snaked their way up and down the walls of the tree. The ground was covered in golden leaves which shined brightly with light from an unseen source. Mario kicked some of the leaves out of the way which revealed a layer of dark blue moss. There were also many spectacular bushes growing from the ground which were a dazzling white color. Mario realized that the vegetation was emitting a soothing, yet chilling tune. He shivered at the eeriness of the music which was coming from seemingly nowhere. Mario could see that Goombella and Koops had the same thoughts on their minds while Flurrie was simply looking at her nails. Mario guessed that this wasn't her first time in this tree.

"Alright, Puniper said that all of the other Punies were being held near the top of the tree so we should keep going up." said Punio.

Punio's words cut through Mario's thoughts. He forced himself to stop looking around and concentrate at the task at hand.

"Alright. Lets keep going." muttered Mario, almost drowsily.

It was strange. This tree was so magical, so surreal, that Mario almost felt like he was watching himself in a movie, walking through some magical land. He found it hard to believe that the sights he was seeing were real. Mario shook his head, as if to shake some life back into himself. He felt more aware once he actually did a physical act. When he was just looking around though, the beauty of the enchanted Great Boggly Tree almost was making him lose himself.

Mario spotted an X-Naut patrol coming their way. It almost made Mario sad to see these monsters taking over such a beautiful place.

"Flurrie! Get behind that bush." said Mario, pointing to one of the larger white bushes growing from the blue moss.

Flurrie nodded and floated behind it.

"Goombella, I want you to get their attention and lure them past these bushes." said Mario, ducking behind another of the bushes with Koops and Punio.

"Once again I see its up to me." snickered Goombella walking towards the X-Nauts.

Mario could hear the X-Nauts rambling on about nothing in particular. Suddenly, they stopped talking.

"Dude! Who is that?" asked the first X-Naut.

"No idea. She can't be up to any good though. Grab her!" yelled the second X-Naut.

Goombella ran by the bushes that Mario, Koops, and Flurrie were hiding behind. The X-Nauts footsteps grew louder and louder. The first X-Naut reached the bush Flurrie was hiding behind. In a single motion, Flurrie grabbed the X-Naut off its feet and hurled it towards the wall of the tree. There was a cracking sound as the X-Naut smashed into the wall. It then slid down onto the ground, out cold. Koops ran forward and pushed the other X-Naut up against the side of the tree.

"Where are you holding the Punies?" demanded Koops.

"Just keep going up dude! You can't miss them. Oh god, Lord Crump is going to kill me for telling you that." whined the X-Naut.

Mario walked up and grabbed one of the vines to tie the X-Naut up but he broke out of Koops's grip and made a run for it. He was out of sight before Mario could even chase after him.

"Well, he is undoubtedly going to tell Lord Crump that were here so we better hurry." said Mario, dropping the vine.

"Well, we better keep going up." said Punio.

Mario glanced up and was surprised to see a second level above him. It was nothing more then a part of the tree trunk that was jutting out but it provided an adequate walkway. This tree really was amazing.

Mario and Koops followed Punio to another one of the shoots in the tree that led to the raised walkway. Flurrie simply floated up to it, carrying Goombella. Mario, Koops, and Punio scaled the chute and met up with Flurrie and Goombella. True to what Mario had seen from the ground level, there was just a small walkway which led to another chute. More brilliant white vines hung from the top of the room.

"This is the last chute that goes up. After you go up it, you are as high as you can go in the trunk of the tree." said Punio.

"Well then I guess the other Punies are being held right past that chute. Lets save them." said Mario, walking towards the chute. Punio, Goombella, Flurrie, and Koops followed.

Punio was nervous. He was about to be reunited with his fellow Punies. He just hoped that they were all still alive and hadn't been harmed. Punio was especially worried about his sister. He had looked over her his entire life and she had never been on her own before. It was finally time to see her again. Punio followed Mario and his friends as they acceded the final chute.

* * *

A lone X-Naut was pacing the room that Lord Crump had assigned him to guard**. **He glanced around the room for the millionth time, at all of the crates that had been strewn haphazardly next to the glass sculptures. Lord Crump had stored most of the X-Naut army's supplies in this room and assigned a guard to the room. He had grown bored and had lost all focus on the task assigned to him. He simply paced the room, too caught up in his own thoughts to notice the shadowy figure that had slipped through a hole in the side of the tree and crept up behind him. The figure struck the X-Naut in the back of the head cleanly and silently. The X-Naut crumpled to the ground silently. The mysterious figure then headed over to the back of the room to get its job done as quickly as possible and then get out.

* * *

Mario reached the top of the chute and climbed out. He turned and grabbed Koops's hand and pulled him out of the chute. Punio scampered up next, followed by Goombella and Flurrie. They were in another huge room, but this one only had one floor. Thicker vines bearing white leaves hung from the top of this room. Mario figured that this was indeed as high as the trunk went.

"Elder!" cried Punio, running forward.

Mario whirled around and saw two massive cages. One of them contained a single Puni. The other held at least a hundred. At the sight of Punio, they all pushed up against the side of the cage to try to get a better look. Punio however didn't seem to notice them as he had gone over and was talking to the Elder Puni. She was very similar looking to the rest of the Punies but she looked much more worn and old. Her eyes were tired looking and her skin was very wrinkled. Her antenna was a dull shade of pink and it drooped like the rest of the Elder's body.

"Oh... hi Punio. You look well. Where have you been?" asked the elder in a frail voice.

"Elder! We have come to rescue everyone. We are going to take back the tree!" screeched Punio.

"Oh a rescue huh? How cute. You should help the other Punies though. There is not much I can do to help." said the elder.

"Okay. Where are they?" asked Punio, not noticing the other cage.

"Punio!" cried a feminine voice.

Punio spun around and looked for the source.

"PETUNI!" yelled Punio, sprinting forward.

He ran to the front of the cage where a slightly smaller Puni stood. Mario followed Punio over to the cage, noticing the padlocks on both of them.

"Thank god your okay! I've been worried sick!" cried Punio.

Mario walked over to Punio. His sister was slightly smaller then the rest of the punies. She had a few gray dots instead of the normal shade of grey and her antenna was a brilliant pink color.

"Punio! You came back! I just knew you would save us!" bleated Petunia.

"Do you honestly think I would leave you? I love you way to much to do that! And I managed to find some powerful friends that are going to help us take back our tree!" said Punio, gesturing towards Mario.

"I can see that! We might actually be able to save our home now!" cried Petunia.

"Hey Punio, lets find the keys to the door so we can let them all out." suggested Mario.

"Alright. Petuni, we will be right back to save you all! Just hold on a little longer." reassured Punio.

"Alright. Please be careful!" begged Petunia.

"Ill be fine. Being careful is overrated."

With that, Mario, Punio, and the rest of the group continued through the room. There was a small opening in the wall in the far side.

"Hey guys, wait out here and make sure the X-Nauts don't do anything to the prisoners. Koops, come with me." said Mario.

"Alright. Do you think they left the keys here?" asked Koops.

"Only one way to find out."

Mario and Koops crawled through the opening in the wall and stood up. Mario took a look around and saw the usual glass sculptures of the tree but there were also strange blue flowers that glowed in this room. Intrigued, Mario walked farther into the room. There were many crates of all shapes and sizes laying around everywhere. This was definitely not the work of the Punies. There was a moan from the floor and Mario saw a X-Naut that was out cold laying there. Mario looked back up and saw a familiar red mask and red high heeled shoes. It was none other that Ms. Mowz standing over the unconscious X-Naut.

"Well Mr Mustache, we meet again." swooned Ms Mowz enticingly, her tail curled into a heart like shape.

"Oh hello again Ms. Mowz. What are you doing in a place like this?" asked Mario.

"Same thing I am always doing sweetie! I caught wind of some valuable treasure hidden in this tree some I have come to steal it of course! Although... I have been running into a lot more trouble then I counted on..." gushed Ms. Mowz, trailing off.

"So did you find what you were looking for?" asked Koops.

"I sure did dearie. I was just heading out as you guys walked in!" said Ms. Mowz in a teasing voice.

"Oh! Well that...that's a good thing." stammered Koops.

"Mmmh. By the way, assuming you are still on the same quest, the Crystal Star you are looking for is near the bottom of the tree."

She walked over to Mario and gave him a big kiss.

"Thanks for the tips. I guess I'll be seeing you." said Mario, smiling.

"Indeed you will you handsome man... Indeed you will." said Ms. Mowz in a sexy voice.

She then leaped onto one of the overturned crates and out of a hole in the side of the tree.

"There she goes! I like seeing her occasionally, she is quite a lady." said Koops, jealously.

"Yes she is Koops. Make sure you don't forget about Koopie Koo though!" joked Mario, laughing.

"Ill try not to." muttered Koops, smiling.

"Hey, the X-Naut has one of the keys on his belt. Lets grab it and open the cage." said Mario.

"Sounds good. Lets do it." replied Koops.

Mario picked up the keys and he and Koops squeezed back through the hole in the wall and rejoined the rest of the group.

"Any luck guys?" asked Goombella.

"A little, we got one of the keys but the other one must be hidden somewhere else. I'm guessing that Lord Crump didn't want anyone to get all of the keys in case their storage room was lost." said Mario.

Mario tried the key on the cages. The key was to the Elder's cage. Mario pulled off the padlock and opened the door.

"Elder! Were came back for you! Your free now!" cried Punio, triumphantly.

"YOU IDIOT! Now that you are in my reach, I can STRANGLE you!" screamed the Elder in a loud voice that no longer sounded weak and frail.

Punio staggered back.

"Wait! What did I do? I came to save you!" stuttered Punio.

Shut the hell up! Show some respect for your elders! HOW COULD YOU abandon your poor sister and run off you coward! This is an absolute DISGRACE!" yelled the elder.

"But... but... I just went to get help!" blubbered Punio.

"NEVER interrupt an Elder while she is talking! Now you know why none of the other Punies have any respect for you!" cried the elder.

"That's not true! I almost had the other Punies up here helping me." said Punio.

He realized that the elder was right though as none of the Punies were up here helping him out.

"You have got to shape up Punio! You have to lead this tribe someday and this is NOT the way to do it!" barked the elder.

"I understand! I though that I was doing what was best for us though. I got help from Flurrie and Mario!" said Punio, gesturing at them.

"Punio, I get it but you still have a lot to learn before you can lead this tribe one day... a day that is not far off." said the elder, more calmly now.

"I'm sorry. I still have a lot to learn, I know." admitted Punio.

"So what were you trying to do here again?" asked the elder.

"We came here to rescue everyone and take back our tree! We started with you." said Punio.

"Is that SO? Well then get me out of here! Were wasting time!" yelled the elder.

The elder walked out of the cell, muttering something about her aching back.

"Ill see you in the gathering area. Get down there as soon as possible!" demanded the elder.

"Alright. I will be there in a minute." said Punio.

The elder nodded then turned and disappeared down the chute that led down. Punio walked over to the cell that held his sister and the rest of the Punies.

"Petuni! Everyone, just you wait! I am coming back for you all! Just hold on a little longer. We are going to take back out tree and the X-Nauts and Jabbies will have hell to pay if they try to stop us!" yelled Punio.

"I believe in you Punio. Just remember, I love you and I know you will save us all!" cried Petuni.

"Good job Punio! You are doing great!" cried a Puni from the group.

"You have made our ancestors proud." yelled another.

"We believe in you!" yipped a third.

Punio nodded then led Mario and the rest of the group back down the chute leaving the encouraging cries of his fellow Punies in the distance. He would get them out and when he did, the X-Nauts would have nowhere to hide.


	10. Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree Part 3

**The Great Boggly Tree Part 3**

_The Resistance_

Jabble had just woken up from a restless night of sleep. No one really got much sleep anymore these days. The Jabbie tribe was on the warpath with the Puni tribe again and recently, all the days seemed to be spent preparing for an attack. Jabble crawled out of the hive that was his temporary home. The leaders of the Jabbie tribe had ordered these hives to be constructed in case of an emergency defensive. There were two in the Great Boggly Tree. The first one, the one Jabble was in, was much smaller, housing only about ten Jabbies. The Jabbie elder had sent almost all of the other Jabbies, well over a hundred, to defend their main home. The first hive that Jabble was in was more of a diversion to draw attention from the main hive then to serve as a defensive location. Jabble knew that if the Punies decided to attack, it would be over in seconds.

It hadn't always been this way though. Times had changed. Up until the X-Nauts had entered the Great Boggly Tree, Jabbies and the Punies had lived in peace. Jabble even used to be great friends with one of members of the Puni tribe, Punio. The fact was, even now, Jabble didn't see why they were fighting. He sure didn't want to fight the Punies, nor did he have any motivation to. Jabble's theory was that the X-Nauts had negotiated some sort of deal with the greedy elder of their tribe, which involved the Jabbie tribe fighting the Punies and aiding the X-Nauts. Jabble hated the idea of fighting those who had been his friends weeks ago. Every bit of common sense in his body was telling him to not listen to the corrupt elder but at the moment, he didn't really have a choice. Sighing, he turned and walked back to the hive for a quick breakfast before work began.

* * *

Mario had begun the long climb back down the tree. He noticed that Punio had a spring in his step now and seemed to be in a much better mood. Mario figured it was probably because now Punio had a slightly bigger chance of getting together a resistance group with the elder free.

"Look out!" cried Punio.

Mario, who was deep in thought, didn't hear the warning and plunged down one of the chutes that they had climbed up before. Luckily, it was at an angle so he didn't hit the ground head on.

"Mario! Are you okay?" screamed Goombella, petrified.

"Ugh... Yeah. Wasn't watching where I was going." moaned Mario, pulling himself up.

Koops came sliding down the chute a few seconds later.

"Well it looks like your still in one piece. It could have been worse." said Koops.

"Yeah. Its a good thing my face absorbed most of the impact. I could have gotten really hurt." muttered Mario, wiping the dirt off himself.

No one seemed to get Mario's attempt at humor so he decided to not delay any longer. He turned and led the group down the next chute and soon they had reached the beginning of the tree again. Punio quickly ran ahead and made a beeline for the Elder, who had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Elder! I'm back. Were all here. We need to save the rest of the Punies!" yelled Punio.

The Elder didn't move a muscle.

"Great time for a nap I guess." sighed Punio.

"Well what do we have here? I have to admit, I can't believe that you managed to rescue the Elder." said a voice.

Punio didn't even need to turn around to know that the mocking voice was Puniper.

"Yeah, I saved her, just like I said. Any more doubts buddy?" asked Punio.

"Well, I have no doubt now that you are going to be able to take the tree back. Just LOOK at the marvelous leader we have there to lead us to victory." mocked Puniper, gesturing at the sleeping Elder.

"That marvelous leader happens to be our Elder. You should show some respect for the person that watched over this tree years before you were even born!" yelled Punio.

"Let me spell it out for you. I don't give a care about the fact that you rescued the useless elder. I still don't trust that guy that you keep calling our ally and I am DEFINENTLY not moving from this spot until you save all of the Punies! It is a miracle that you managed to rescue the Elder and believe me, your luck will run out, and when it does, you will have no one to turn to!" brawled Puniper.

"EXCUSE ME!" screamed the Elder who had awoken.

"Calling an Elder USELESS? I can't believe you! You are the bay of this tribe's existence! You my friend are in a world of hurt if we ever get out tree back." shrieked the Elder, turning red.

"But... Elder... I'm sorry..." whimpered Puniper, turning a bright red color.

"Awwwww, the big bad Puniper is sorry?" mocked Goombella, snickering.

"Look at Punio over there! He just risked everything to help me. He is our only chance of ever getting our Great Boggly Tree back from the X-Cauts, I mean Nauts. So you get off you blubbery ass and help Punio!" roared the Elder, enraged.

"Yes Elder." skulked Puniper.

"Were coming too." said another voice.

Mario turned and saw the other group of Punies had formed behind them.

"Now that's more like it! See, were already a step closer to taking our tree back. Now, you should all take the chutes down this time. I overheard the X-Fauts... X-Nauts talking at one point. The key to the other cell is near the bottom of the tree. I suggest you make haste." ordered the Elder.

"Alright. You heard the woman. Lets go." said Puniper, ashamed.

"Don't worry Elder. I'll get the key and soon, the tree will be ours again." said Punio.

"Those are the words of a true leader Punio." said the Elder.

Punio stopped for a second as the elder's words sunk in. He looked back at the elder who nodded encouragingly. Punio smiled and then turned to follow the small army of Punies who were heading down the chute. Mario and his partners followed close behind. The Punies were already growing in strength and soon, the X-Nauts and the Jabbies wouldn't be able to contain them anymore.

Mario was the first to the chute. This one had a steep drop and the bottom was nowhere in sight.

"Its safe. Trust me." assured Punio who had also reached the ledge and was looking down.

"Oh boy." muttered Mario, as he gazed down into the seemingly endless chute.

He took a last breath and then jumped down the chute. It dropped steeply and Mario picked up speed at an alarming rate. He saw the light at the end of the chute coming up fast and he braced himself for the impact. He shot out and slid right into an X-Naut that was standing on the edge of a chasm. The X-Naut was knocked backwards into the pit as Mario slid to a stop right before the edge. Mario heard the X-Naut screaming on the way down and then a huge splash. Mario pulled himself up and gazed over the edge.

"Look out below!" screamed Koops who suddenly came flying out of the chute.

Mario froze as he realized that he was in the same position the X-Naut was when he came out of the...

Koops hit him from behind and Mario plunged over the edge. He fell for a few seconds before he splashed into the water below.

"Mario! Oh god!" yelled Koops from the top of the cliff.

"I'm fine! The water is actually pretty nice." yelled Mario back up at Koops.

"Mario! Hang on. We'll get you out." yelled Goombella who had also appeared at the top of the hole.

"Sounds like a plan." muttered Mario.

He had fallen into a huge foggy cavern and was treading water in some sort of massive pond in the tree. Before he even got a look around, he heard a splash behind him. Mario swam forwards to try to see if there was any level ground in sight but his hand soon brushed against the tree trunk. There was no ground, just water. Mario was suddenly pulled under the water. He broke away and swam to the surface, desperately trying to locate the attacker. It must have been the X-Naut he had knocked in earlier!

"Koops! Goombella! You need to get me out of here!" yelled Mario, knowing that it would be all too easy for the X-Naut to drown him.

"Almost there! Just hold on!" yelled Koops from somewhere above.

The X-Naut suddenly surfaced right in front of Mario.

"Hey buddy. Enjoying the swim?" asked the X-Naut.

Mario felt the trunk behind him, desperately looking for anything to use to fend off the X-Naut. His hand closed around a thick tree root that was loose. The X-Naut swam closer and closer. Mario pulled with all of his strength and the root came free in his hands just as the X-Naut reached him.

"How about we go for a nice swim to the bottom of the lake, just the two of us?" taunted the X-Naut.

"Sounds great." spat Mario as he brought the root up and smashed the X-Naut in the face with it.

Without a sound, the X-Naut went limp and sunk below the water. Mario sighed and relaxed. He leaned backwards so that he was now floating on his back. He got his first real look around.

"Oh, wow..." said Mario wearily.

He hadn't even noticed the beauty of the pond he was in. The warm water lapped gently at Mario's aching muscles and made him almost want to go to sleep and never wake up. The whole chamber was full of the most beautiful multicolored mist that Mario had ever seen. Pulling himself back up, he saw that the water he was in was twinkling and shining with all of the most vivid and stunningly beautiful colors he could imagine. Mario took off his hat and dived under the water. He opened his eyes and was lost in a fantastic world of color. The light under the water was almost blinding. Mario dived deeper and reached the bottom of the pond where he allowed himself to sink into a sitting position on the ground. Here, the colors were much deeper and surreal. He could see the sides of the tree, which were a bright red and green color that was shifting and moving slowly around the trunk. The whole scene kept changing colors and shimmering softly. The whole thing seemed like a dream. There was no way that something this dazzling could exist. Mario felt his lungs beginning to strain and he realized that he needed to get going again. He pushed off the bottom and swam upwards through a whirlwind of color and light. He broke through the surface and gasped for breath.

"Mario! Where are you!" Goombella was screaming.

"I'm okay. I'm still here!" yelled Mario up.

"Grab the vine!" yelled Koops, who appeared at the edge and tossed down a thick vine.

It splashed into the water next to Mario, sending up a brilliant spray of purple and green water. Mario grabbed it and hung on. Together, Koops and Flurrie who had just come down the chute pulled the vine upwards. Mario felt the air growing colder and he took one last look down at the pond but already, the colorful mist obscured any view of the water. Mario felt himself being pulled over the top and he was back on dry land.

"Mario! I was so worried about you. Oh. Thank goodness your alright!" gushed Flurrie who pulled Mario off his feet and kissed him so hard, he thought he might loose conciseness.

"I'm so sorry Mario! I didn't know." stammered Koops, looking at the ground.

Mario didn't say anything, he just sunk to the ground.

"Mario? Are you okay?" asked Goombella, confused.

Mario realized that he was smiling dreamily. He was so relaxed from the soothing water that felt like he was in a trance. Goombella's loud voice finally snapped him out of it.

" Yeah I'm okay, its perfectly fine Koops, it was just an accident, and thank you Flurrie." said Mario all in one breath. "Looks like you just went for a dip in the sacred pool." said Punio, who had emerged from the chute along with the other Punies.

"Sacred Pool?" asked Koops.

"Its the elder's private chamber. I've only been here one time before." said Punio who also seemed transfixed.

"There's a path around." yelled Goombella from somewhere to the side.

Everyone turned and saw a narrow ledge that crossed the gap.

"Alright lets keep moving." said Punio, leading the Punies towards the ledge. Goombella crossed first, then Koops, and then Mario. Punio went halfway and then turned to the other Punies.

"Lets make a single file line. Just don't look down." said Punio.

The Punies formed a line and they quickly scampered across the ledge. Only Puniper remained at the other side.

"Let go Puniper. Your doing great!" yelled Punio encouragingly.

"Shove it! I'm doing fine, thank you very much." croaked Puniper.

"Then lets go." said Punio.

Puniper hesitated for a long time before he slowly and carefully crossed the ledge. He didn't stop and walked ahead of the rest of the group and into the next chute.

"He's shaking like a baby!" laughed Goombella.

There were a few snickers from the Punies as they followed Puniper through.

Mario turned towards his group.

"You guys are doing fantastic. A few days ago, I was alone and hopeless. Now, I couldn't ask for better friends." said Mario warmly.

"And we couldn't either." said Koops.

Goombella and Flurrie both just smiled, a dreamy look coming over both of their faces. Koops smiled to himself, recognizing their expressions having seen the same one many times from Koopie Koo before they started dating. It appeared that both Goombella and Flurrie had quite a thing for Mario. Mario either didn't notice or he hid it well. Shaking his head, Koops followed the group into the next chute.

* * *

The chute led to a medium sized room. There were some more of the brilliantly colored shrubs as well as creeper vines snaking their way around the trunk. The chamber seemed to be empty.

"Alright. Lets get moving guys." said Punio, leading the way.

Mario suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He turned around just in time to see one of the shrubs swaying like something had just pushed it. Mario watched as his group and the Punies continued forward. There was a sudden skittering sound from somewhere up above. Mario quickly looked up but didn't see anything besides from more creeper vines crawling across the top of the chamber. He must have been imagining things. He ran to catch up with the group that was halfway across the room. Goombella who was bringing up the rear stopped to adjust her helmet just as Mario caught up to her.

"Mario? I thought you were leading." said Goombella.

"No. Shoe came untied." replied Mario, not wanting to cause panic over what was probably nothing.

"What's wrong?" asked Goombella, who had gotten good at reading Mario's face.

"Nothing. I just... I though I heard something but its probably nothing." replied Mario, scratching his neck nervously.

"Really? You should ignore stuff like that Mario. Not in these circumstances. Lets stop the group for a second and make sure everything's safe." said Goombella warily.

"Your probably right." said Mario.

Mario and Goombella started towards the front of the pack when Punio suddenly stopped.

"Where did Puniol go? Where is he?" asked Punio, alarmed.

Mario stopped and looked at the group of Punies. Mario realized that they were one short.

"Okay. Who was the last person that saw him?" asked Mario.

"He was right next to me when we came into here." squeaked one of the Punies.

Mario and Goombella exchanged worried glances. There had been eleven Punies when they entered the room. Mario had counted them earlier. Now there were ten. Something had happened in the room they were in right now.

"Okay. We need to split up and find him before.."

A piercing cry cut through the air like a knife. Mario whirled around to see a huge spider advancing on the group. It was as white and gray and had a black circular pattern on its body. Four long and twisted legs carried the bloated spider silently towards them with alarming speed. Its white pincers clicked rapidly, the sound echoing off the walls. The creature squealed in excitement as it got closer and closer.

"Its a Pider! Run for your lives!" screamed Punio.

All of the Punies took of running in all directions, shrieking in terror.

"Goombella! Flurrie! Get them out of here!" yelled Mario.

"This way! C'mon! Hurry!" yelled Goombella, desperately trying to get the Punies rounded up.

Koops and Mario stepped past the retreating Punies and faced the Pider who had reached them. It came to a stop in front of them. Mario pulled out his hammer and held it in front of him to keep the Pider from getting closer. It's black eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and let out a hissing, gurgling cackle that made both Mario and Koops shudder involuntarily. Mario noticed a tiny yellow ball had slipped out of the Pider's mouth. He glanced at it and felt his heart sink as he realized that it was the antenna of the missing Puni.

"Oh god..." sighed Koops, realizing the same thing.

Mario felt a throbbing anger come over him. He stepped forwards and slammed his hammer into the creature's head with all of his strength. The Pider let out a choking cry as its legs gave out and it's bloated body crashed to the ground. It thrashed around, tearing bushes out of the ground and sending up a spray of moss and dirt.

"Go. Run, now!" yelled Mario to Koops.

They both spun around and took off running towards the other side of the room. The last Puni was disappearing through the chute. Mario and Koops both jumped in and slid down farther to the next chamber where everyone was catching their breathes.

"Are you guys okay? It didn't hurt you did it?" asked Flurrie.

"Were okay. Mario took it down." said Koops, panting.

"That was a Pider. Nasty creatures. They come after us all the time." said Punio.

Punio looked at Mario and Koop's expressions and knew that something bad had happened. Koops was staring at the ground and Mario looked like someone had just strangled his favorite pet.

"Did you find Puniol?" asked Punio, dreading the answer.

Mario looked at the group of Punies who were all staring at him. He sadly shook his head. An eerie silence came over the group. No one said anything, they all just stood there and took in what they had just heard. Surprisingly, it was Punio who broke the silence.

"It's a shame. Puniol was all of our friends and this is going to hurt us all but we have to keep moving. It's what he would have wanted." said Punio, in a sad and defeated tone that Mario had not heard before.

Punio slowly took the lead again and walked into the next chute, his head hung.

* * *

Jabble had stepped out of the hive area to get away from the chaos that had become his everyday life. He allowed himself to sink to the ground against the trunk of the tree, carefully rearranging his wings. This was Jabble's favorite place to relax, a comfy corner of the tree that was kept nice and cool by the mist coming from a nearby waterfall. Jabble sighed with relief as he allowed his aching body to relax. He remembered when he was just a young Jabbie. He and Punio would play all day and then settle down for the nightly feast between the two tribes. Those were the good old days all right.

"Jabble? Is that you?" asked a voice from somewhere to the side.

Jabble sighed. Getting caught slacking off was the last thing he needed right now. This was perfect, just perfect.

"I'm sorry, I was just relaxing for a minute and..."

Jabble suddenly froze. It wasn't one of the Jabbies at all, it was none other then Punio!

"Punio? What are you doing here? There is a Jabbie hive on the other side of this trunk! They'll kill you if they catch you! You need to get out of here as fast as you can." whispered Jabble, looking around for any Jabbies who could possibly see them.

"It's okay, don't worry. How have you been buddy?" asked Punio, reaching Jabble's side.

"It's been hell for us. The X-Nauts bribed out elder to help them take over the tree. The greedy bastard took the deal and it has been nonstop work for us." sighed Jabble.

"So the Jabbies and X-Nauts are working together." muttered Punio, his heart sinking.

"I'm afraid so. Listen, it's too late to stop them. You have to get out of here and get someplace safe. I don't know what the X-Nauts will do to our tribes after they find whatever they are looking for but it isn't going to be good. It's to late for us but you can still save whoever is left."

"It's okay Jabble. Listen, we saved the Puni elder and we have a fighting chance now. I went for help and found..."

"It's a Jabbie! Lets get him!" yelled a voice from behind.

Punio and Jabble both leapt up and spun around. Puniper and the rest of the Punies had formed a circle around them.

"Way to go Punio! You got the bastard right where we want him" cried a Puni.

"Lets finish him!" cried another.

"No! Wait!" cried Jabbie, searching frantically for a way out.

Punio leaped in front of Jabble. The Punies stopped advancing, confused looks coming over their faces.

"And just what the hell do you think your doing?" yelled Puniper.

"Go! Get out of here!" yelled Punio.

Jabble quickly ran out from behind Punio and disappeared through the hole in the trunk. Punio turned to face Puniper.

"He's my friend alright? I've known him since I was a kid. He wouldn't hurt a fly!" barked Punio.

"He's not your friend anymore! He's a god damned Jabbie! Are you forgetting that they are half the reason we are in this situation?" screamed Puniper.

"Oh yeah? Well if he wasn't here, we would be walking into a hive of Jabbies blindly!" yelled Punio back, gesturing to the hole in the trunk that Jabble had disappeared into.

Puniper opened his mouth to reply but closed it after a few seconds of silence. Mario and his friends slid down the chute and took their place at the back of the group of Punies.

"Listen to me. Jabble told me that their elder made a deal with the X-Nauts. The Jabbies are just following orders! They don't want this any more then we do!" cried Punio.

"I don't care what they want! All I know is what I want, ever last one of them dead! I say we march into their hive right now and burn it down!" growled Puniper.

"Look, lets go into the hive and try to get them to join us! They are being worked to death against their will, I bet we couldn't get them to help us out if we talk to them rationally!" gushed Punio.

The circle of Punies went silent. They seemed lost in their own thoughts.

"Do... do you really think you could talk them down?" asked a Puni hopefully.

"Give me a few minutes and I bet I can. I have a friend in there. I really don't want anything to happen to him." said Punio sadly.

Puniper stepped forward and gave Punio a hard push. With a small cry, Punio stumbled backwards and fell to the ground against the trunk of the tree.

"You are the dumbest Puni I have ever known! Your going to get us killed. I say we go in there right now and..."

"Oh would you just shut the fuck up!" yelled Goombella, furious.

Puniper almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of her loud voice. Mario pretended to cough to hide the fact that he had a huge smile on his face.

"All you have done is waste our time Puniper!" screamed a Puni.

"Why don't you listen to good advice for once you jackass!" spat another.

Punio pulled himself up and brushed the dust off himself.

"Alright. Now that that's settled, whoever wants to try to be reasonable, step forward." said Punio, glaring at Puniper.

Everyone except for Puniper walked over to Punio. Puniper stared at them silently for a few seconds before joining them. He walked up to Punio and took a deep breath.

"Listen Punio. We have our differences but your right. I'm the one who is going to get us killed. I've always hated you because the elder thinks you should take over the tribe instead of me but... I think I agree with her now." said Puniper in a sad tone that no one had ever heard from him before.

"It's alright Puniper. We'll get through this together, okay?" asked Punio.

Puniper nodded and took his place behind Punio.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" asked Punio.

"Were ready alright." replied Puniper.

"Lets get going!" squeaked Punio, walking through the hole.

The group followed Punio through the trunk and found themselves in a huge chamber with the top at least a hundred feet above them. A waterfall fell from high above and the runoff forked into two streams, which ran across the ground. This wasn't what caught everyone's attention through. Against the back of the chamber was a huge rock structure built into the wall. It was the Jabbie hive that Jabble had mentioned. Punio stepped forward and called out.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" he yelled, his tiny voice echoing around the room.

It was completely silent for a few seconds but them there was a creaking sound as a rock at the base of the structure slid to the side. Mario saw a strange creature emerge from it. It must have been one of the Jabbies that Punio and Puniper had been arguing about constantly. It was the same gray shade as the Punies but it was much skinnier and taller. The Jabbie had huge eyes perched on the top of it's skinny body and it had a small pair of white wings sprouting from it's back.

"It's the Punies!" yelled the Jabbie frantically.

Only a few seconds later, more Jabbies began running out of the hive, ready to fight to the death to defend the supply base. Mario counted ten of them in all.

"That's it? We could take them easily." cried one of the Punies.

"Wait a second!" yelled Punio.

The Jabbies froze. They didn't seem eager to start the fight. Punio looked around and spotted Jabble in the back of the group of Jabbies. They made eye contact and Punio nodded in Jabble's direction. Punio's gaze drifted to another one of the Jabbies near the back of the group. He was shaking in terror. Punio had never seen a member of the Jabbie tribe look so afraid, so helpless. Hopeless looks were coming over the faces of the Jabbies as they realized that there was no way they could win. Punio looked at the small group of terrified Jabbies and suddenly knew that they shouldn't be fighting. They were all brothers in this tree and the X-Nauts were the enemy.

"Listen. We don't want to hurt any of you but don't think we wont if you make us." yelled Punio, walking closer to the Jabbies who remained silent.

"You guys are being forced to work for the X-Nauts instead of living your lives! Remember when the tribes used to get along? Remember those days where we lived in peace?" asked Punio, pacing back and forth.

The Jabbies remained silent, thinking over what Punio was saying.

"Don't you guys get it? Were friends! We should be fighting together against the X-Nauts, not against our childhood friends! Now, who wants to take back OUR tree?" asked Punio.

There was a deep silence. Punio stepped back. All he could do now was wait. A few minutes passed before a Jabbi finally spoke.

"I'm so sorry but we can't help you. There is another hive, five times the size of this one in the tree with our whole army in it. If we turn on them, they'll kill us. The X-Nauts are the stronger side and we will be safe with them." squeaked the Jabbi.

"No! Don't you get it? They are using you to try to find the crystal star at the bottom of the tree! All they need you for is for information about the tree and places to store their gear! When they get what they want, they will probably kill you all! If the Punies and the Jabbies teamed up, we could take back our tree!" yelled Punio desperately.

Punio looked at the group of Jabbies hopefully but it was no use.

"It... It's too late. This war will never end." muttered the Jabbi sadly.

Punio sighed walked back to the group.

"It's alright Punio. You tried." said Mario, patting Punio on the back.

He walked forward and stopped in front of the group of Jabbies.

"Okay. You won't help us but you need to clear out of here right now because I know you all don't want to fight us and I wouldn't either since you have no chance." said Mario.

The group of Jabbies was silent for a second but realizing Mario was right, they slowly formed a line and filed past the Punies and out of the hole in the trunk. Jabble paused and turned to Punio.

"I'm so sorry Punio..."

Punio walked over to Jabble and gave him a hug.

"It's okay. Well see each other again. One of these days, well walk through the tree together again in peace... just like we used to" said Punio warmly.

Jabble sighed, a tiny tear running down his face.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye. Good luck out there Punio."

"You too. Please be careful." replied Punio, sadly.

With that, Jabble turned and began walking away. He stopped and turned around one last time.

"If I don't see you again, I just wanted you to know that..."

"Well always be friends Jabble, no matter what happens. Well see each other again." said Punio.

"I know." said Jabble, smiling.

With one final glance, Jabble turned and followed the last of the Jabbies towards whatever fate awaited them.


	11. Chapter 2: The Great Boggly Tree Part 4

**The Great Boggly Tree Part 4**

_The Calm Before The Storm_

Mario sat in the corner of the chamber, watching the Punies as they ransacked the hive that had once been the Jabbies. All of their supplies that had been held in the hive now covered the ground of the room.

"Look at this! A speckled egg." cried a Puni from across the room.

"Jabbies won't be needing that anymore. Give it to me." yelled another.

Mario was feeling uneasy, wondering if they had crossed the fine line from gathering supplies to full on looting. A quick look at his partners told him that they had the same thoughts. Mario glanced at Punio who was also watching the mess his fellow Punies were making. He seemed to have lost control of his army, no doubt because he had helped the enemy in everyone's eyes.

"Alright everyone. I think its time to get going." Said Mario, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Not yet! There's a lot of really good stuff they left behind. We can use it!" Squeaked Puniper.

Goombella walked over and pulled the stack of darkened nuts, a Jabbie desert that Puniper had been hiding out of his hands.

"Yeah. This is gonna help us out a bunch!" hissed Goombella.

"If you guys insist on tearing all of the Jabbie's things apart, at least look for something actually useful, like a key to the other cage." Muttered Koops.

"Hey. I'm trying! Give me a break." Spat Puniper as he returned to the wreck of the Jabbie hive.

Mario wondered over to the mess and did a quick scan over it. It was mostly food. It definently looked like the Jabbies expected to have to fight and were stockpiling. He returned to Punio.

"That couldn't have been all of the Jabbies right? There were only a few." asked Mario.

Punio shook his head.

"Their tribe is about the same size as ours. Over a hundred strong. I don't know where the rest of them are but these ones must have been guarding the supplies for the rest of their tribe." replied Punio, deep in thought.

"So the rest must be in another hive. And they know were coming since we let the others go. They probably are telling the rest of the Jabbies about us as we speak." Said Mario.

"We definently need to get going. We can't give them enough time to prepare for our attack. With the X-Nauts helping them, who knows what we could run into…" whispered Punio, trailing off.

"Hey! A key." Yelled a Puniper.

Mario ran across the chamber to where Puniper was standing, Punio close behind. He followed Puniper's gaze and saw a tiny sliver key, almost completely buried in the rubble.

"Grab it. That's probably the key to the other cage!" squeaked Punio, his eyes lighting up.

Mario bent down and grabbed it. He took a quick look at the key and then shoved it into his pocket.

"Alright. Wrap it up here. We need to make our way back up the tree and unlock that cage. Were strong, but definently not strong enough to take on the whole Jabbie tribe and the X-Nauts by ourselves." said Mario, addressing the whole tribe.

There were a few scattered complaints from the Punies but eventually, they all were back in rank.

"Alright. We need to get back to the top of the tree where the rest of our tribe is being held." said Punio, eagerly.

With that, Punio led the way out of the chamber with Mario, his partners, and the rest of the Punies close behind.

Mario found himself thinking about what the Jabbies had said, about the other hive, five times the size of the one they had just taken. There had to be hundreds of Jabbies in it, not to mention whatever they might run into with Lord Crump and his goons running around. It looked bleak for the Puni tribe but there was always a chance, and that was all Mario needed.

* * *

Jabble and the other Jabbies had crossed the tree and arrived in the main hive. They entered to a beehive of preparation, shouting, and general chaos that increased substantially with the arrival of the rest of the Jabbies from the lost hive.

"What happened there?"

"What about all of our supplies?"

"How much time do we have?"

Questions hit Jabble from all sides and blended into white noise as he marched his small tribe into the main hive. Inside, Jabbies were running in all directions barricading the hive and making preparations for an all out war. The Jabbie elder sat at the back of the chamber, watching silently. Jabble dreaded what was coming but there were some things he had to say. When the elder saw Jabble, she closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh.

"May I ask why you have abandoned your post? I specifically ordered you to guard our supplies with your lives. Now if you don't get back to the hive before the Punies stumble upon it, I'll show you what I do to deserters." spat the elder.

Jabble sucked in his breath, his stomach fluttering.

"The hive is lost. The Punies showed up with reinforcements and they let us go with our lives." Whispered Jabble.

The elder climbed to her feet and stood over Jabble, her eyes burning into his with hate.

"I ordered you to die defending that hive if necessary. You disobeyed a direct order and fled you pathetic coward!" snarled the elder, striking Jabble over the head with the whip she used to punish her workers.

Jabble fell backwards off of the platform that the elder had been sitting on and crashed to the ground. Ignoring the burning pain, he pulled himself up and looked the elder right in the eye.

"In case you haven't noticed, I just saved ten Jabbies by not wasting our lives defending that hive. How do you expect to ever fight the Punies and their human allies by throwing away your tribes lives as if they were nothing?" said Jabble firmly.

"How dare you talk to me like that! Because of you, our main supply line is cut off. I should skin you alive just to make an example out of you!" yelled the elder.

"And what would that accomplish? Do you know why the Punies have gotten to where they are now, even with almost all of their tribe locked up? It is because their elder understands how important every single one of the Punies are. They work as a team, without the fear of death lingering above their heads every second of every day! They are smart, they are efficient, and they are determined even in the face of overwhelming odds. How do you think they managed to convince a human and his partners to help them take back a tree that means nothing to them?" hissed Jabble.

The elder was silent for a moment, shaking with anger. Her ancient and shriveled wings flapped furiously, as if she wasn't able to believe that a Jabbie was standing up to her like this.

"Human allies or not, I have the X-Nauts on my side. Do you actually think the Punies have a chance against us?" asked the elder, angrily.

"And where are the X-Nauts now? I don't exactly see them helping us prepare to defend against the Puni tribe." muttered Jabble, shaking his head.

"They are doing their part. I made a deal with them and they will stop at nothing to help us take down the Punies." cried the elder.

"You really are full of it. Do you even know why the X-Nauts are here? It sure as hell has nothing to do with helping us! They are looking for something and using our tribe for access to the Great Tree. As soon as they find what they are looking for, they will cut any ties with you or worse, turn on both of us and destroy our tribes and our home without a second thought!" yelled Jabble.

"Ridiculous! I haven't heard such lies in all of my years!" shrieked the elder, veins popping out of her neck.

"Not at all actually. I don't know what the X-Nauts offered you but I do know that it was a bribe and your greed overpowered your common sense! If you had even a bit of care for your fellow tribe, you would stop this insane tribal war and unite with the Punies to fight the real enemy, the X-Nauts! I talked to my old friend Punio before we lost the hive and that was all he wanted. He asked us to help him and the Jabbies that you brainwashed turned down his offer! The Punies don't want to fight us at all. They want our help to fight the X-Nauts! If you don't cut our ties with them right now and get on the right side, both of our tribes are going to be nothing but a lost civilization that will serve as a warning for generations to come!" screamed Jabble angrily.

The elder jumped to her feet, shaking with rage.

"ENOUGH! You have betrayed your own kind! You should be ashamed of yourself. Just listen to the bullshit that is spewing from your mouth! Well let me tell you something buddy, your done! I don't want to ever see your face around here again. Get the hell out of here! If you get eaten by a Pider, that would be more then you deserve!"

"Nothing would make me happier!" spat Jabble as he turned and began walking out of the hive.

"If I ever see you again, I will have you killed before you know what hit you!" yelled the elder after him.

"Oh you'll see me again all right. You'll see me on the front lines of the Puni tribe as were removing you from the face of the earth!" roared Jabble.

He then turned and marched out of the hive, leaving all of the Jabbies that had been hard at work silent. He made his way across the chamber and was about to leave when he heard his friend, Jabby call after him.

"Hey Jabble… good luck out there."

Jabble paused and nodded in his direction.

"I hope for your sake and my fellow tribes sake that you guys will open your eyes because the path that your on will end in nothing but death."

With that, Jabble turned and left the hive, and what had once been his tribe behind and set out to find his only real friend, Punio.

* * *

It seemed like years had passed. Petunia sat in the corner of the cell, loosing hope by the minute. Her brother had promised that he would return and get them out, and aided by Mario and his friends she had felt that nothing could stop him. The situation grew bleaker by the minute. The X-Nauts were on full alert now that they knew that Mario was here and there had been two guards placed in the room. They stood on both sides of the cell and while they were inexperienced, they were loyal and never left their posts. The other Punies had lost hope a long time ago but Petunia had refused to let their hopeless attitudes rub off on her.

"So Petunia, where is your brother?" asked Punetta for the tenth time.

"I told you. He's coming back. He would never leave us." whispered Petunia sadly.

"Cut the talk! He isn't coming back. There are so many things that could have gone wrong with the X-Nauts and Jabbies running around the tree like they are!" barked Puno, spitefully.

"Shut up! Nothing happened to my brother! He promised me he would save us and I know that he will keep his promise." cried Petunia, fighting back tears.

"Yeah he'll keep his promise all right. Unless he was eaten by a Pider or killed by the Jabbies or a million other possibilities!" yelled Punut.

Petunia felt the tears coming and this time, she let them. She started to realize that maybe the other Punies were right. Maybe there was no way that Punio could have made it back under these conditions. He had the biggest heart she had ever known, but the Jabbies and X-Nauts had the biggest army she had ever known and Punio only had a few friends to help him out. She wiped away her tears and got to her feet slowly.

"Punio! Where are you! You promised me you would never leave me!" she screamed into the silence of the Great Tree.

"You know me sis. I'm not one to break promises!" yelled Punio, appearing in the entrance to the chamber.

"Punio!" yelled Petunia, pushing past the spellbound Punies to the front of the cage.

The X-Nauts sprang into action, running full speed towards Punio.

"Look out!" screamed Petunia, covering her eyes.

Just as the X-Nauts reached Punio, Mario and Koops stepped past Punio and simultaneously smashed the X-Nauts with shovels that they had recovered from the Jabbie hive. Both X-Nauts stopped in their tracks and fell to the ground limply.

"I'm coming Petunia!" yelled Punio.

Mario quickly stepped over the X-Nauts and unlocked the cage. Punio rushed in and embraced his sister in a hug.

"Punio. I was so scared. I thought…"

"Shhh. I'm here. There is nothing to worry about. I'll never leave you again Petunia." comforted Punio.

"I love you Punio. I never gave up on you, even when it looked like you didn't stand a chance!" gushed Petunia.

"C'mon sis! Since when have I been one to back down from a challenge?" asked Punio laughing.

Punio turned to face the rest of his tribe, his fighting spirit back.

"Alright everyone. As you know, these are grim times. I won't sugar coat it. The Jabbies are preparing for a full out attack against us and they are backed up by the X-Nauts. But guess what? We have one thing they don't. That thing is love. We are a family. We have shared some of the best and worst times together and the way I see it, we will share many more because there is no way in hell we are going to let the Jabbies and X-Nauts have our tree without a fight!" yelled Punio.

The Puni tribe broke into cheers, their hopes renewed and their spirits rejuvenated.

"So the way I see it, we have one option. We'll hit the Jabbies and X-Nauts with everything we got! We'll hit them so hard, they won't even be able to fathom how the Puni tribe was able to fight with the passion and determination that they fought with! It will be the most difficult challenge we have ever faced as a tribe and I can't promise you that everyone will walk away and that is why anybody who is not willing to go all the way can leave at any time."

Not a single Puni moved. They were all family and each one was more then willing to give their lives for the others.

"Now that is the Puni tribe that I know! Now lets all join together and make one last great effort, and then we can live in the peace that we once knew again. One huge push, and the Great Tree will be ours again!" yelled Punio.

Look at him go!" whispered Goombella to Mario.

"I can't believe how much he has accomplished. The guy has more guts and determination then I have seen in a long time." replied Mario, awestruck.

The entire Puni tribe marched out of the cell and formed up, well over a hundred Punies, all willing to die for the Tree they loved. Unlike the Jabbies and X-Nauts, the Punies had something worth fighting for.

"Now lets get going and show these Jabbies and X-Nauts who the stronger species is!" cried Punio.

The Puni tribe let out thundering cries of determination and rage and they began to march, Punio in the lead with Mario and his partners close behind. Together, they all filed out of the chamber.

* * *

Punio led them down the numerous chutes until they reached the entrance to the tree where the elder had been waiting. Punio entered first with Mario close behind and then they both stopped dead in their tracks. Goombella emerged next and gasped. Lord Crump and one of his X-Naut guards stood over the elder who was lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood, barely clinging to life.

"Now, lets try this one more time lady. You tell me where the crystal star is or I'm afraid I'll be forced to cut your precious youth short!" mocked Crump.

"That's… that's no way to treat an old woman you son of a bitch!" hissed the elder in a weak voice.

White with rage, Flurrie silently floated up to Crump, grabbed his guard and hurled him with all of her might clear across the chamber where he smashed into the trunk with an enormous crack. He was dead before he hit the ground.

"We'll if it isn't Mario and his triumphant band of buffoons!" sneered Crump, although he was visibly shaken.

"God damnit Crump! What kind of sick fuck are you!" screamed Goombella, furiously.

"The kind that gets what he want's and isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers in the process." replied Crump, as cocky as ever.

"You're never leaving this chamber alive!" boomed Flurrie, floating closer.

"I don't think so. In fact, I'm leaving right now and getting that star, and unless you want me to kill your precious elder, you won't try anything funny." barked Crump, inching towards the next chamber, pulling the elder's limp body with him.

When he reached the chute that led down, he paused.

"Just wait until you all see what I have in store for you and your Great Tree. You guys are gonna just love it!" yelled Crump laughing.

Then, he let go of the elder, drew back his foot, and kicked her brutally into the side of the tree where she made a horrible choking noise and lay still on the ground.

"NO!" screamed Punio, rushing to the elder's side.

Crump let out a hearty laugh and turned and disappeared down the chute. Mario and his partners too ran to the elder's side. She was clinging to life, but only just.

"Pun…Punio? Is that you?" croaked the elder, her voice as fragile as the wind.

"Yes. It's me elder. I am so sorry I wasn't quicker. I could have stopped him." said Punio, sadly.

"None of that hogwash now… I… I just wanted to tell you that you have become more then the leader that I ever hoped for you to be… You have made… your elder proud."

The elder then drew her last breath and was silent. Punio bent down and gave the elder a small kiss on her cheek.

"I won't let you down elder. I promise." Whispered Punio tearfully.

He was silent for a long time until he stood up and faced Mario and the rest of the shocked Puni tribe.

"Punio… are you okay?" asked Petunia, unable to believe what she had just seen.

Punio shook his head. Mario was shocked to see the unbelievable anger in Punio's eyes.

"I wanna kill them all." he said flatly, and walked through the tribe of Punies towards the chute that Crump had fled down. He paused at the chute and turned to face his tribe.

"We are going to get that son of a bitch. We are going to make them all pay." yelled Punio.

The Punies all silently watched Punio, never before having seen him like this. They were silent but it was obvious what they were feeling. The elder had been a part of all of their lives for years and had helped them all to get where they were today. After what they had just witnessed, the Puni tribe was ready to send the world crashing down around them before they let Crump and the Jabbies see the light of another day.

"Now I say we go down there and raise some hell!" screamed Punio.

The Punies all let out deafening war cries. Mario found himself yelling right along with them. Nobody, human or not deserved what had happened to the Puni tribe. He too was more then willing to give his life to see Crump get what was coming to him.

"Punio! Are you in here?" called a voice from outside the chamber.

Punio stopped and his eyes widened.

Jabble walked into the chamber and froze. He was facing Mario, his partners, and the entire Puni tribe.

"Jabble? But… but how?" stuttered Punio.

"I got banished from my tribe. I tried to convince the elder to join forced with you against the X-Nauts." explained Jabble, eying the massive army in front of him warily.

"You need to get out of here Jabble. The stakes have gotten too high." muttered Punio.

"And leave my best friend to die? Not on my watch Punio." Said Jabble.

He then looked over and saw the Puni elder lying dead on the ground. He went even whiter then normal.

"My god…"

Punio let out a deep sigh.

"It was Lord Crump and the damn X-Nauts. Your elder has no idea what she has done."

"I know. I can't believe what things have come to. I still remember what it used to be like before all of this war when our tribes lived in peace. I would die to go back to that time again." Said Jabble sadly.

"Well, that's the plan." replied Punio firmly.

"Is that so? I'm in."

Punio smiled and felt the first surge of happiness he had felt for a long time.

"Good to have you back buddy." said Punio, feeling tears coming.

"Good to be back Punio."


End file.
